10th-ranked Kohawks cruise by Norse
The game started with four-straight punts by the two teams before Luther put the first points on the scoreboard with 6:35 to play in the opening quarter. Facing fourth and six from the Coe 28 yard line, Chris Reynolds hooked up with Jered Bourquin for a touchdown. The point after attempt by Seth Streeter failed.
After another exchange of punts, the Kohawk offense found its rhythm. The Norse punt traveled just 10 yards, giving Coe possession at the Norse 22 yard line. It took Coe just four plays and under two minutes to take the lead, as junior Brad Boyle (New Sharon, Iowa/North Mahaska) plunged in from six-yards out. The point after attempt by senior Elliot Rausa (Waterloo, Iowa/Columbus) gave the Kohawks a 7-6 lead that they would never look back on.
Coe forced a Luther punt on the first possession of the second quarter. The punt by Collin White went out-of-bounds at the Coe eight-yard line. The punt set up a 92-yard, 15 play drive by the Kohawks that used up 5:30 of the clock. The Kohawks converted three first downs on the drive, along with a nine-yard pass from Boyle to senior Tyler Takes (Ely, Iowa/Solon) on fourth and four from the Luther 26-yard line. Boyle capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run with 8:34 to play in the first half, giving Coe a 14-6 lead.
Another punt by White inside the five-yard line led to another 90-plus yard scoring drive for the Kohawks. Coe faced a substitution penalty to start the drive, but Boyle found sophomore Chase Cooling (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) for his first career reception on first and 11 for 37-yards. With :21 left in the half, Boyle found Takes for six-yards and a score, giving the Kohawks a 21-6 lead heading into the locker room.
Takes started the second-half with a 29-yard kick return to the Coe 49-yard line. Following the big return, it took the Kohawks just six plays in 2:24 to score again. It was Boyle plunging in again for his third rushing touchdown of the game, tying his career-high for the fourth time.
The Kohawks forced another Norse punt on their first possession of the second half. Coe quickly drove the ball down the field again, scoring on nine-plays, 59 yards in under three minutes. Boyle gave way to sophomore Brendan Leiran (Waukon, Iowa/Waukon) for the six-yard score, giving the Kohawks a 35-7 lead with 8:50 to play in the third quarter.
With 10:46 to play, sophomore Phillip Hale (Plano, Texas/Plano) intercepted a Reynolds pass at the Coe 19-yard line. The pick led to Coe's final scoring drive of the day. Boyle led his final drive of the game 10-plays, 81 yards in 3:19 for a touchdown. On third and 10 from the Luther 27-yard line, Boyle found junior Nick Ratchford (Waterloo, Iowa/Columbus) for 17-yards. The reception was the 100th of Ratchford's career, making him just the eighth player in school history to do so. On the very next play, Boyle found senior Michael Rozum (Byron, Ill./Byron) for a 10-yard touchdown pass, giving Coe a 42-6 lead with 7:27 to play.
The Norse added two touchdowns on their final two drives, as the Kohawks began shuffling numerous players in on the defensive side of the ball. In between the two Norse scoring drives, the Kohawks were forced to punt after a three-and-out.
The Kohawks tallied 500-yards of offense for the second-straight week, while the Norse totaled 402 yards of offense. Coe held the ball for 34:19, while the Norse had it for just 25:41. The Kohawks were perfect in all six red zone chances.
Leiran finished the day with a career-high 26 carries for 115 yards, the third-time this season Leiran has rushed for over 100 yards. Boyle was 26-of-39 passing for 342 yards and two touchdowns. His 26 completions tied a career-high, the fourth highest in school history, while his 342 yards passing was the second most in his career and the 11th best in school history. The 342-yard passing performance was Boyle's fourth 300-yard game of his career, the second most in school history.
Boyle hit numerous career marks in Saturday's win. He became the sixth player in school history to have 300 completions, seventh player with 4,000 yards, eighth player with over 500 attempts and eighth player with 30 touchdown passes.
Takes caught a career-high nine passes for 101 yards, while Rozum caught a career-high six passes for 106 yards, the second 100-yard game of the season for Rozum. Cooling punted four times for 192 yards, including a 74-yard punt. It was the second-straight week Cooling has had a punt go over 74 yards.
Junior Jacob Lower (Volga, Iowa/Central Elkader) led the defense with 16 tackles, a career-high and the 14th most in school history. Fellow junior Connor Worthington (Carlisle, Iowa/Carlisle) also added a career-high 12 tackles, while junior Tyler Hemry (West Union, Iowa/North Fayette) added a career-high 10 tackles, including the teams only sack. Junior Jacob Breitbach (Panora, Iowa/Panorama) had four pass break-ups, a career-high and fourth most in school history.
The 10th-ranked Kohawks (3-0, 1-0 IIAC) return to action next Saturday, as they host seventh-ranked Central (3-0, 1-0 IIAC). Since the D3football.com rankings began, this will be the first match-up of top ten teams from the Iowa Conference. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Clark Field.
