INKSTER, N.D. — When star running back Dayson Dubois took a hit in the fourth quarter and had to come out, who else stepped in but another member of the Keja family.
Kaleb Keja is Four Winds’ starting quarterback. Kashton Keja Jr. was the quarterback before him. Sophomore Kyson Keja is the Indians’ backup running back, and he took over for Dubois with the Indians clinging to a 26-24 lead over Midway/Minto at Horner Field.
“I’ve said it since we had their older brother Kelvin. The lights come on, and those guys just shine,” Four Winds co-head coach Travis Mertens said of the Kejas. “They’re bulldogs. They do whatever you ask. They love the game, which helps. They study the game. They’re usually the smartest guys on the field.”
Kaleb, Four Winds’ second-year starter at quarterback, had some quick words for Kyson.
“I told him just to play hard,” Kaleb Keja said. “He was nervous, but I just told him to keep playing through it.”
Kyson Keja had seven carries over Four Winds’ next two possessions. In between, the Indians had a punt blocked and brought back to their own five-yard line. A play later, Midway/Minto’s Krystian Gudajtes ran it into the end zone for a five-yard, go-ahead touchdown.
But on the next drive, Kyson’s three-yard run set up a five-yard rush for Kaleb, who put Four Winds up 34-30 — the score that ended up holding in a back-and-forth nine-man Region 2 battle Thursday night. The Indians (3-1) outlasted the Mustangs (1-3).
They did it without Zach Langstaff, one of their top receivers, who recently sustained a concussion — and partly without Dubois and lineman Jeremiah White, who also left mid-game.
“You’re always happy to get that victory. We battled a little adversity with injuries,” Mertens said. “A lot of character showing for some of these guys. But just right now, it seems like health is kind of keeping us from maybe getting in a little bit more of a rhythm on the offensive end, for this game, at least.”
Four Winds’ offense got off to a slow start.
Keja’s 18-yard touchdown pass to freshman Ryleigh Martin was Four Winds’ only offensive score of the first half.
“Keep fighting,” Keja said. “Keep pushing through it.”
Four Winds got on the board with 1:16 left in the first quarter, tying it at 6-6 after Midway/Minto had scored on an 18-yard pass to Trenton Sitzer.
Ayden English completed a 59-yard touchdown drive with a two-yard rush to put Midway/Minto ahead 12-6 in the second quarter. Four Winds turned it over on downs twice, unable to capitalize on one of Lander Guy’s two interceptions.
“These guys are no slouch,” Four Winds co-head coach Mark Bishop said. “You can see on film, they have some athletes. They have some boys up front in the linebacker and in the backfield, the fullbacks. They want to hit, and they bring the wood when they hit.”
The Indians managed to go into halftime with a tie game after Dubois came up with a 20-yard pick-six in the final minute of the second quarter.
The Indians drove the ball 76 yards to open the second half, capped by a 24-yard touchdown run from Dubois. Four Winds’ senior running back also picked up the first successful two-point conversion of the night, putting the Indians up 20-12.
The Mustangs kept it close with a 72-yard run-heavy drive led by English, who had seven carries for 31 yards on the possession. Christopher Nielsen carried it 19 yards to the one-yard line, leading to a one-yard rush into the end zone. Four Winds stopped the two-point attempt short to maintain a small lead, 20-18, at the end of three quarters.
Keja’s biggest moments came in the fourth quarter.
The lights came on — literally, as it had gotten dark — and Keja delivered.
“Fight for more yards,” Keja said. “They were telling me to run angry at them. They couldn’t tackle me.”
On the third play of the fourth quarter, he broke for a 43-yard touchdown rush. The two-point was short, making it 26-18.
It took only two plays for Midway/Minto to counter with a big play of its own. English found an opening for a 65-yard touchdown rush. All the Indians could do was watch him run. Once again, though, the two-point attempt fell short, so Four Winds still had a marginal 26-24 advantage.
Kyson Keja, on his first drive of the game, picked up a first down. Dubois had been uncertain he would be able to hold the ball after banging up his hand.
“Kyson’s ready,” Bishop said. “We can plug Kyson in, and you’re not missing [much]. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Dayson, he’s the dude for us. But Kyson is definitely serviceable.”
Four Winds couldn’t gain much more after Kyson’s first play. A disastrous punt led to a back-breaking Midway/Minto touchdown, giving the home sideline the most life it had had all night.
The Mustangs were charged with unsportsmanlike conduct on their first two-point attempt. After deliberation over the call between the refs and Four Winds coaches, the ball was pushed back to the 16, and Midway/Minto failed its second attempt.
But, for the first time since the first quarter, the Mustangs had a lead. It was 30-26 with 7:23 on the clock.
And then Four Winds faced a fourth-and-12 situation.
Keja came up with what Mertens called the play of the game. He heaved a 32-yard pass to Lander Guy inside the left sideline.
“That was a crazy catch,” Bishop said.
Added Mertens: “Credit to Lander. He’s a three-year guy for us, always doing it the right way. He wants to be a vocal leader on the field for us. He was asked to go make a play; he made a big play for us.”
Keja ran in the rest himself, a five-yard touchdown to give Four Winds the lead. He completed a two-point pass to Martin, and it was 34-30 with about three minutes left.
Though Midway/Minto put up a formidable fight, the Indians’ defense got key tackles when it needed to on the last drive. Judah Young had the final tackle on fourth and 18 to turn it over on downs with less than a minute on the clock.
Victory.
“It feels kind of good,” Keja said before adding, “We should have beat them by a lot.”
Keja totaled 120 yards in the air unofficially in addition to his two touchdown rushes.
Dubois had 101 yards on the ground before he had to come out. He’s expected to be okay.
Four Winds goes to McVille next Friday to play Nelson County at 7 p.m.