Big second half leads to Coe win over Norse

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - With just a 13-7 lead at halftime, Coe exploded for 41 points in the second half, as they moved to 3-1 in the Iowa Conference with a 54-20 win over Luther.  Coe went over 500 yards of offense for the second-straight game.

Coe drove to the Luther 13 yard line on their opening possession, but back-to-back incomplete passes by senior Brad Boyle (New Sharon, Iowa/North Mahaska) gave the ball to the Norse.  The Kohawk defense held Luther to negative two yards on three plays, forcing a punt.

The Kohawks wasted no time scoring on their second drive.  On second-and-12, Boyle threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Keaton Juergens (Elkader, Iowa/Central Elkader).  The point-after attempt by sophomore Wes Anderson (Newhall, Iowa/Benton Community) put Coe up 7-0 with 8:22 to play in the first quarter.  Luther then went 75 yards on 16 plays, but were stopped on the Coe two yard line.  Seth Streeter came in to attempt a 20-yard field goal, but junior Terrance Lockett Jr. (St. Louis, Mo./Desmet Jesuit) blocked the kick with junior Frank Weymiller (New Albin, Iowa/Waukon) recovering it at the 10-yard line and returning it to the 18, where the Norse were called for a personal foul.  Coe would drive to the Luther 32 yard line, but again failed to convert a fourth down.

Luther took advantage, scoring on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Chris Reynolds to Dalen Dirth to tie the game 7-7 with 12:03 left in the first half.  Coe would again move the ball inside the Luther 30 yard line, but Boyle was sacked and fumbled the ball with Carpenter recovering for the Norse with 9:30 left in the half.  Luther would move to the Coe 30 yard line, but Reynolds pass on fourth down was incomplete.  

Coe regained the lead as they took over with 5:36 to play in the half.  Facing third-and-one from the Luther 49 yard line, Joe Langenberg (Baxter, Iowa/Baxter) took a jet sweep 49 yards to paydirt.  The snap on the point-after attempt was fumbled, leaving Coe with a 13-7 lead going to halftime.

After forcing a Luther punt on the first possession of the second half, the Kohawk offense started to click.  Boyle found Langenberg for 19-yards on the first play of the drive.  On third-and-three, Boyle threw a 28-yard pass to junior Jared Kuehner (Center Point, Iowa/Center Point-Urbana).  Two plays later, junior Brendan Leiran (Waukon, Iowa/Waukon) plunged in from five-yards out.  Anderson's extra point failed, leaving Coe with a 19-7 lead with 9:49 to play in the third quarter.

The Kohawks forced another Norse punt, but this time the snap was bobbled and Coe took over at the Luther 11 yard line.  All it took was one run up the middle by Langenberg for the Kohawks to extend their lead to 26-7 with the Anderson extra point.  The Norse took over at their own 36 yard line.  After a three-yard run by Alex Hain, junior Demetreus Johnson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) intercepted a Reynolds pass.  

Coe was forced into a three-and-out on its next possession.  For the second-straight Norse play, Reynolds was intercepted, this time by senior Tyler Hemry (West Union, Iowa/North Fayette).  Hemry returned his first career interception nine yards to the one yard line, where Boyle dove in one play later for the score, putting the Kohawks up 33-7 with 6:48 left in the third quarter.

Adding to the scoring in the quarter, Luther went 61-yards on 10 plays, capped by a five-yard touchdown pass from Reynolds to Dirth with 2:57 left in the quarter.  The Kohawks would add one more score in the quarter, as the two teams combined for 34 points in the frame.  Facing third-and-eight, Boyle threw a 41-yard pass to Kris Hopkins (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk).  Following an illegal blocking penalty, Boyle threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Kuehner.

Luther opened the fourth quarter with seven play, 76 yard drive with Dan Ridenour scoring from one-yard out, cutting Coe's lead to 40-20 with 12:44 to play.  Dylan Youel (Traer, Iowa/North Tama) blocked the extra point.

Coe was then stopped on fourth down on their ensuing possession, but forced the Norse to punt on theirs.  Coe took over on the Luther 43 yard line and took just five plays to score, as Boyle threw a nine-yard pass to Kuehner for his second score of the day.  

Luther was faced with fourth-and-four from their own 42-yard line, but Reynolds scrambled for 13 yards to gain the first down.  On the next play, Johnson intercepted his second pass of the day, this time returning it 76 yards for a touchdown with 5:33 to play.

The Kohawks finished with 510 yards of offense, with Luther tallying 398.  Coe rushed for 226 and threw for 284.

Leiran finished with a game-high 100 yards on 23 carries.  Langenberg added a career-high 68 yards on three carries.  Reynolds led the Norse with 81 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Boyle completed 15-of-21 passes for 284 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.  With 15 completions, Boyle joined Joe Brannen and Glenn Carlson as the only players in school history to complete 100 passes or more in three different seasons.  Reynolds was 16-of-34 for 145 with two touchdowns and three interceptions for the Norse.  

Kuehner finished with a career-high 132 yards receiving on six receptions, including his first multi touchdown game.  Hopkins had 54 yards on three receptions and Juergens had 51 yards on three receptions, including a career-long of 21.  Langenberg added 47 yards on three receptions.

Senior Ben Carr (Clinton, Iowa/Prince of Peace) had a game-high 12 tackles, including two for a loss.  Sophomore Antoine Allen-Jackson (Aurora, Ill./Oswego East) added a career-high eight tackles, while Johnson and sophomore Mitch Montgomery (Lisbon, Iowa/Lisbon) each had a career-high seven tackles.  As a team, the Kohawks had 10 tackles for a loss and broke up 10 passes in addition to the three interceptions.  They also blocked two kicks and had eight quarterback hurries.

The Kohawks will have a bye next week before returning to action Oct. 22.  Coe will travel to Dubuque for a 1 p.m. kickoff against Loras in two weeks.