CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College Football team opened its American Rivers Conference schedule on Saturday, celebrating homecoming and Coe's 175th anniversary with a 35-14 victory over the Loras College Duhawks. The Kohawks exploded for 21 points in the first quarter after totaling just 13 in their previous two games, scoring three times on a pair of TD passes from
Brady Kelly and a five-yard plunge from
Andrew White. Coe's defense, which set up the second touchdown with a pick deep in Loras territory, struck again as
Ryker Dengler picked off another pass late in the first quarter.
Luke Smith got in on the fun at quarterback, connecting with
Jackson Baethke for a 29-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Coe's offense went quiet for the rest of the second quarter and much of the third as Loras threatened to mount a comeback, but a clutch 63-yard touchdown from
Quincy Drummer in the final minutes of the game sealed the victory for Coe. Kelly finished with 180 yards and two scores while Drummer totaled a career-high 160 yards and one score on 21 totes. Baethke was Coe's leading receiver, recording six catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively,
Isaac Stevens led the team with 10 stops and added one sack.
Bryson Tidwell also wreaked havoc on the defensive line, registering nine total tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.
GAME FACTS:
COE 35 - 14
- Coe's first drive was impressive, taking over at the 30 before going on a lengthy drive that took 12 plays and 5:30. Baethke caught his first touchdown of the game on second-and-eight, easily beating his defender to the pylon after catching one from Kelly on a wiggle route. Coe's defense quickly got the ball back to the offense, picking off a pass that bounced off Tidwell's helmet and bounced into the hands of a diving Samuel Beecher. White and the Kohawks capitalized on the turnover three plays later as the senior pushed the pile on a third-and-short from inside the five, hitting paydirt for 14-0. A three-and-out from the Duhawks again gave Coe's offense another chance to strike, taking over at its own 31 with 6:19 left in the quarter. Kelly and the Kohawks marched straight down the field, finishing off the drive with a connection to Cayden Schultz, who made an easy catch in the middle of the endzone after Kelly waited patiently for him to clear. Dengler punctuated the dominant quarter for the Kohawks on the next drive, picking off a third-and-three pass attempt that tipped off a receiver's hands. Smith and Baethke hooked up on the first play of the second quarter as Smith lofted a beautiful pass to the left corner of the endzone for Baethke, who ran a go route and made a contested catch. Loras threatened to score on its opening drive of the third quarter, taking the ball 74 yards before failing on a fourth-and-one conversion as Tidwell and Stevens combined to make the stop to continue the shutout. The Duhawks managed to score the next two touchdowns, starting to put pressure back on Coe with over six minutes to play. A turnover on downs from Loras with less than two minutes to go all but sealed it before Drummer ripped off a 63-yard burst to ice the game.
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