LINCOLN, Ne. - The Coe College football team took down Nebraska Wesleyan 53-21 on Saturday afternoon after a dominant effort on both sides of the ball. The Kohawks opened up a 28-7 lead in the first half after four rushing touchdowns and went on to add three passing touchdowns in the second period to cruise to the victory. Coe rushed for 242 total yards in the game for an average of 3.8 yards per carry while passing for 244-yards. Coe, which extended its winning streak to five games, moves to 8-2 with the victory and 6-2 in the league while NWU falls to 4-6 overall and 2-6 in the league. 
 
Starting quarterback Nick Casey threw for 244-yards, going 22-of-31 passing while tossing three touchdowns and one interception. The rushing attack was led by Ray Seidel and Chance Newton who combined for over 170-yards and three scores as Seidel eclipsed the century mark with 104-yards and one score. Dominic Shepardson led the receiving effort for Coe with four catches for 76-yards while Amel Saric, Tre Walker and Owen Worthington all found the end zone on passes from Casey. The defense was led by Manny Lopez who stuffed the stat sheet with 10 total tackles, one interception and half of a sack while Alex Aitchison added four tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception as he wreaked havoc on the NWU offense all game. 
 
COE 53 - NEBRASKA WESLEYAN 21
Game Facts

• Nebraska Wesleyan opened the game with possession inside its own 20-yard line after solid special teams tackling from Coe but a six-play, 85-yard drive from the hosts ended with a 56-yard touchdown from Carter Terry to David O'Connell as the P-Wolves opened the scoring. 
• Coe responded right away on its first offensive possession, moving the ball down the field with ease to tie the score at seven on a one-yard touchdown rush from Chance Newton. On the drive, Casey hooked up with Shepardson for a 39-yard completion while Ray Seidel added a 16-yard tote on third and three to keep the drive alive. 
• The defense stepped up for the Kohawks on the next Prairie Wolves possession as Terry had a third-down pass intercepted by Aitchison as Jon Bell deflected the pass for his teammate who secured the turnover. Coe, which took over on the NWU 18, scored just two plays later as Casey cashed in from four-yards out to make it 14-7 after Newton moved the ball inside the five with a solid 14-yard gain. 
• Again Coe's defense came up big on the next possession, forcing a three-and-out after a first-down penalty to quickly give the offense back the ball at its own 38-yard line. The Kohawks then manufactured an 11-play, 62-yard drive which was capped off by another Newton score, this time from six yards out. During the drive, Casey completed passes of 11 and nine yards to Tre Walker while picking up gains of eight and nine during the march as the visitors led 21-7 with 14:55 to play in the half. 
• The Coe defense continued to stymie the NWU offense for the remainder of the quarter, holding the hosts to a pair of scoreless three-and-out possessions. Coe regained possession with 7:36 left in the half after a redzone turnover on its prior drive. Shepardson began the drive with a 10-yard rush on the first play, sparking the offense into another long scoring drive as Coe went 58-yards over 15 plays to score its fourth TD of the contest. Ray Seidel, who anchored a majority of the possession on the ground, hit paydirt for the Kohawks from one-yard out, converting yet another red zone opportunity with just 46 seconds left in the half as Coe led 28-7 after two quarters. 
• The Kohawks came up empty in their first possession of the second half but the defense proved large again, forcing a turnover just three plays after the P-Wolves regained control of the ball as Bridger Aucutt came up with another interception. Coe started the next possession at the NWU 36 and quickly moved into the red zone but it faced a fourth and 13 and kept the ball in Casey's hands who delivered a strike to Amel Saric for a 17-yard score. The defense stayed dominant on the host's next drive, sacking Terry in the endzone as Manny Lopez recorded the safety for the defense to make it 37-7 with 9:41 left in the third. 
• Coe came up empty on the possession following the safety but quickly got the ball back after another interception as this time Lopez came up with a pick inside NWU territory on the first play of the ensuing possession. The Kohawks slowly moved further into NWU territory, getting inside the 12-yard line as time expired in the third quarter. The drive stalled to open the fourth quarter as Coe was forced to settle for a 31-yard field goal which Evan Ellis converted to put Coe up 40-7 with 14:54 to play. 
• NWU struck back two plays into its next drive, getting a 56-yard touchdown pass from Terry to O' Connell as the P-Wolves made it 40-14 with over 14 minutes left. Coe kept Nebraska Wesleyan alive on its next possession, going three-and-out to quickly give the ball back to the hosts, who took full advantage with a 74-yard TD pass on the first play from scrimmage as they quickly made it 40-21. 
• Coe showed no panic despite the two quick scores from NWU, marching down the field for a six-play, 66-yard scoring drive which was capped off by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Casey to Walker. The Kohawks ended the scoring on the next possession, recovering a fumble on the ensuing kick-off as Jay Oostendorp forced the turnover while Mitchell Eckardt scooped it up to set up Coe inside the NWU 25. Coe found the end zone one final time with 5:09 left in the game as Casey made it three TD passes with a six-yard score to Owen Worthington. 

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