DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Coe College football team picked up a 34-27 victory at the University of Dubuque on Saturday afternoon thanks to a 20-point first quarter which helped the Kohawks fend off a late comeback from the Spartans. Alphonso Soko spearheaded the Coe offense, carrying the rock 34 times while picking up 145 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the first quarter. Starting quarterback Nick Casey returned to his role after missing last week's second half with an injury and went 14-of-21 with 201 yards and one score while his defense forced three Dubuque turnovers to help secure the win. The victory is Coe's third straight and moves the Kohawks to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the A-R-C while Dubuque falls to 5-3 on the year and 4-2 in the league. 
 
Soko, who had rushing touchdowns of one, 14 and 32 yards on the day, was joined by Casey who also reached the end zone on a two-yard plunge late in the first quarter as the junior quarterback added 27 yards on eight carries. Dominic Shepardson led the receiving effort for Coe, posting 100 yards on six catches while Amel Saric finished with 54 yards on four catches. Tre Walker made just one catch but it resulted in a 25-yard score in the third quarter which put Coe ahead 27-13. Manny Lopez was excellent for the Kohawks on defense, filling the stat sheet with 12 total tackles, one fumble recovery, one interception and one pass break up. Heath Henderson, Bridger Aucutt and Jon Bell also helped anchor the defense, finishing with eight, seven and seven tackles respectively. Jay Oostendorp and Alex Aitchison produced impact plays for the defense as the pair each forced a fumble while Aithcison also recovered a turnover for Coe. 
 
COE 34 - DUBUQUE 27
GAME FACTS

• The Kohawks got off to a perfect start on their opening drive, marching 65 yards over six plays to score on their first possession. Soko, who had a 13-yard rush earlier on the drive, scored from one yard out after a 48-yard completion to Shepardson set up the Kohawks inside the five-yard line. 
• The defense answered the call on its first chance of the game as Dubuque turned to Kallion Buckner on the ground but Aithcison knocked the ball loose and saw Lopez scoop it up to set the Kohawk offense up at the 14-yard line. On the next play from scrimmage Soko found paydirt again, cashing in his second score of the day from 14-yards out as Coe took an early 14-0 lead with 12:45 left in the opening quarter. 
• The Spartans took over on their own 25 following the score and moved the ball with a first down but then got forced back after two penalties which resulted in a third and 26 where the Kohawks made a stop and forced a punt. The offense continued to click for Coe on the next possession as it went 49-yards on 13 plays, scoring once again to push the lead to 20-0. The drive began in plus territory for the Kohawks who turned to the ground, rushing it eight times during the drive including the scoring play which was a two-yard score for Casey. 
• Dubuque came to life on its next possession, moving the ball into Coe territory with a few big plays including a 16-yard completion to Elliott Pipkin but a stand on fourth down turned the ball back over to the Kohawks. Despite the solid field position the Kohawks went three-and-out on the next possession and were forced to punt with just under 13 minutes to play in the half. Evan Ellis hit a 44-yard punt that was fielded by Jordan LaBelle and returned before being tackled by Oostendorp who forced a special teams turnover with a fumble that Aitchison recovered. Coe was unable to capitalize on the big special team'=s play, giving the ball straight back to the Spartans as Casey was picked off on the first play following the fumble. 
• The Spartans finally got on the board on their next possession, putting together a 12-play, 79-yard drive which was capped off by Jacob Keller who scored from three-yards out. On the drive, Keller completed passes of six and 30 yards while rushing for gains of eight and the eventual score. 
• Coe took over with 5:27 left in the half and moved the ball into Dubuque territory thanks to passes of 11 and 12 from Casey to Shepardson and Ray Seidel but the drive stalled out at the Spartan 49 with less than a minute remaining in the half as the Kohawks held a 20-6 lead at the break. 
• The hosts started the second half with the ball and immediately went three-and-out as the defense held Tiger Geeslin to a loss on third down and two, forcing the early punt. The Kohawk offense showed well again on their first drive of the second half, moving the ball inside the red zone but a failed fourth-down attempt turned the ball back to Dubuque with 8:49 left in the third. Keller cut further in the lead on the next play of the game, connecting with DaMon Street for an 82-yard touchdown to make the score 20-13.
• The Kohawks took over at their own 34 and quickly moved into Spartan territory after a 12-yard completion to Shepardson from Casey. Three plays later Casey found Walker for a 25-yard score to cap off a six-play, 66-yard scoring drive which put Coe back up two touchdowns. Again, the defense rose to the challenge, forcing Dubuque to punt after just three plays on their next drive as Oostendorp sacked Keller on third and 10 to force the punt. Coe regained possession at its own 33 with 4:25 left in the third and methodically marched into Dubuque territory before the end of the quarter. The Kohawks were faced with third and 11 to open the fourth and turned to Soko who hit the home run and scored his third touchdown of the day from 32-yards out, putting the Kohawks in front 34-13. 
• The teams traded empty possessions for the next seven-plus minutes but Dubuque made things interesting late in the period, scoring on a 10-yard pass play which cut the lead to 14 points with 4:33 remaining in the contest. The Spartans kicked it deep to the Kohawks who were unable to get any momentum on offense and punted it back to the hosts with 4:07 to play. Dubuque marched immediately down the field and scored another touchdown in just one minute and 17 seconds as Keller completed a two-yard pass to make it 34-27 Coe with 2:47 left in the game.
• The Spartans tried an onside kick on the ensuing kick-off, but the Kohawks managed to pounce on top of the loose ball to take over in plus territory. Again, the offense struggled, as Dubuque held Soko to gains of one, three and three as Coe was forced to punt back to UD with 30 seconds left. The Spartans took over at their own 14-yard line and immediately went to the air but Keller's first pass of the drive was intercepted by Lopez who sealed the game for Coe. 

Up next: Coe returns to Clark Field next week for another conference matchup against Buena Vista on Saturday, November 6 at 1 PM. 
 
#KohawkNation
Visit https://kohawkathletics.com/ for complete coverage of Coe College Athletics
Like Coe College Athletics on Facebook
Follow @CoeAthletics on Twitter
Follow @CoeAthletics on Instagram
Coe Athletics Mobile App - Android | iPhone