CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College football team celebrated its 2021-22 senior class before a 31-28 victory over Buena Vista on Saturday afternoon in the final home game of the season for the Kohawks. A week after scoring 20 points in the opening quarter, Coe saw Buena Vista open a 14-0 lead early on but 17 points for Coe in the second quarter brought it back into the game. The Kohawks would continue to click in the third quarter, adding 14 points in the frame to take the lead for good as Coe earned the 31-28 victory over Buena Vista. The victory, which is Coe's fourth in a row, moves the Kohawks to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the A-R-C while BVU falls to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the league.
Starting quarterback
Nick Casey had a career day for the Kohawks, going 27-of-44 while racking up 354-yards and four touchdowns. The junior signal-caller managed to bounce back from a pair of early interceptions to lead the come-from-behind victory and sealed it late with a gutsy run on third and long with less than a minute to play. Casey, who led Coe in rushing with 58-yards, produced two 100-yard receivers as
Dominic Shepardson and
Amel Saric went over the century mark. Senior wideout
Joshua Bishop also added 95-yards on four catches including a 55-yard score late in the second quarter.
Defensively, linebacker duo
Manny Lopez and
Jay Oostendorp led the team with 11 tackles each as Oostendorp made a team-best five solo stops. The Kohawks also recorded two important sacks in the game as seniors
Cam Elam and
Cedric Nah got in on the action in their last game at Clark Field.
John Bell came up with the lone turnover for the Coe defense, picking off BVU quarterback Brandon Kyles with 5:14 in the fourth quarter to put an end to a comeback attempt for the Beavers.
COE 31 - BVU 28
Game Facts
- The Beavers won the toss and elected to receive to open the game as the offense did not disappoint, marching down the field in 11 plays en route to a one-yard touchdown run. The drive featured six rushes including the scoring play as the hosts punched it in on the ground. Coe was unable to respond on its first possession of the game as the drive stalled out in BVU territory as the Kohawks punted the ball back to the Beavers. Buena Vista started with the ball at its own 24 and immediately went three-and-out as Coe took advantage of a penalty to get the ball back.
- Four plays later the Beavers got back on track, picking off Casey while returning it inside Coe's five-yard line to set the offense up with a red zone chance. BVU cashed in on the great field position two plays later as Kyles completed a six-yard pass to Colby Laughlin, giving the visitors a 14-0 lead. Coe had another good drive going on its ensuing possession, getting deep into Buena Vista territory but another interception from Casey thwarted Coe's progress as the Beavers took over at their own 27. BVU faced a third and long at the start of the second quarter and were unable to convert, punting it back to Coe with 14:11 on the clock.
- The Kohawks finally got on the board on their ensuing possession, going 79-yards over 16 plays, resulting in a 26-yard field goal from Evan Ellis. During the drive, Casey connected with Bishop for 15 yards and Shepardson for 13 yards while just missing Tre Walker on a potential TD pass. The defense answered the call on its next chance, forcing another three-and-out from Buena Vista as the Beavers again faced third and long after a penalty.
- Coe struck again, this time via a long pass to Bishop down the middle of the field as Casey connected with his wideout who was wide open down the middle as he trotted into the end zone. BVU started its next drive with just 4:07 left in the second quarter and quickly moved the ball into Coe territory. Kyles then connected with Eric Pacheco who made a few Kohawks miss en route to the end zone for a 33-yard score.
- The Kohawks had one final chance in the opening half, taking over possession with 1:41 to play but Casey manufactured a nine-play, 61-yard touchdown drive to get Coe within four at the halftime break. During the march. Casey connected with Walker for six, Saric for eight, Shepardson for 25 and Logan Winn for a 14-yard score as the seconds ticked away.
- The teams traded empty possessions to start the third quarter as Coe struck first on its second drive. Casey then led another long touchdown drive, going 87-yards in 17 plays while finding tight end Cooper Zeck on a three-yard strike in the endzone. The Beavers began their next possession on their own 20 and continued to struggle offensively as penalties and incompletions forced a punt with 2:51 left in the third. Coe scored its final touchdown of the game late in the frame as Casey capped off a career day with a six-yard touchdown pass to Saric after finding Shepardson for a 49-yard play earlier on the drive.
- The Beavers refused to go away despite the momentum turning in the hosts' favor as Buena Vista opened the fourth quarter with an eight-play, 71-yard scoring drive which resulted in an 11-yard pass from Kyles to Pacheco. Coe ate up clock and drove deep into BVU territory on the next drive, getting inside the 20 but a failed fourth-down conversion turned the ball back to the Beavers with 6:22 to play. The Beavers struggled on their first two plays of the drive, gaining just two yards before Bell came up with a huge interception, stepping in front of a pass from Kyles to essentially seal the game. Coe took over again with just 1:37 to play in the game after another failed fourth-down conversion from BVU as Casey came up with a crucial 11-yard run on third and ten to clinch the victory.
Up next: Coe will return to the field next week for its final regular-season game as the Kohawks travel to Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday, November 13 for a 1 PM game.
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