Kohawks cruise to 47-7 win over Simpson, sole possession of first place

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Coe College scored 33 unanswered points to end the game, as the 18th-ranked Kohawks rolled Simpson 47-7 in a game between the only remaining unbeaten teams in the Iowa Conference.

While the Kohawks were on cruise control most of the game, senior Jared McNutt (Warren, Ill./Warren) made NCAA Division III history for the second time this year.  Earlier in the year, McNutt and freshman Mark Atwater (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Linn-Mar) tied the NCAA Division III record for the most consecutive completions.  Saturday, McNutt made history of his own by completing 28-of-30 passes.  His 93.3 percent is the highest completion percentage in NCAA Division III history.

After Simpson won the toss, the Kohawks took the ball and marched down the field, scoring on its first possession of the game.  Coe faced just one third down on the 10 play, 72-yard drive that ended with senior Brendan Leiran's (Waukon, Iowa/Waukon) 30th career rushing touchdown from 12-yards out.  

Coe forced a Simpson punt after five plays.  Taking over at its own 26-yard line, the Kohawks went 79-yards on 11 plays, as Leiran scored for the second time in the game with 4:46 to play in the half. The one-yard touchdown run put Coe ahead 14-0. Just like the first drive, Coe faced just one third down, as Coe converted the first down with a 20-yard screen pass from McNutt to Leiran.

On its first possession of the second quarter, the Storm cut the Kohawk lead to 14-7 with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Nelson to Taylor Rogers.  Coe put the lead back to double digits on the ensuing drive.  Junior Wes Anderson(Newhall, Iowa/Benton Community) hit a 32-yard field goal with 5:11 to play in the half.

The field goal was the first of 33-straight points for the Kohawks.  On the first play of the drive for Simpson, seniorFrank Weymiller (New Albin, Iowa/Waukon) sacked Nelson in the end zone, as the safety put Coe ahead 19-7.  After back-to-back runs by Leiran, McNutt found senior Chase Cooling (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) for a 56-yard touchdown on third-and-one.  It was the first touchdown of Coolings career.

On Simpson's ensuing drive, Weymiller forced his 13th career fumble, with junior Antoine Allen-Jackson (Aurora, Ill./Oswego East) recovering at the Storm 30-yard line.  Weymiller has more forced fumbles in his career than any player currently playing at any NCAA level of football.  It took just four plays for Leiran to score his third touchdown of the half, as Coe went ahead 33-7 with 1:51 to go in the half.  Simpson would go three-and-out on the next drive, but Coe would not attempt to score again in the half.

Neither team could get anything going in the third quarter, but Coe scored right away in the fourth quarter.  On the second play of the quarter, sophomore Colin Ferring (Waukon, Iowa/Waukon) scored from six-yards out, as Coe went ahead 40-7.  

Simpson's next drive was ended by an interception by Demetreus Johnson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy).  On Coe's next possession, the Kohawks went 35-yards on six plays, capped by Ferrings first career reception, a 10-yard touchdown from McNutt.

Coe held a 31-16 advantage in first downs, while outgaining the Storm 556-335.  Simpson had averaged over 170 yards rushing the last two weeks, but the Kohawk defense held the Storm to 28 yards on the ground.  Coe also held a 37:32 to 22:28 advantage in time of possession.

Leiran led Coe's ground attack with 155 yards on 27 carries with three touchdowns.  Junior Carvin Thompson (Dallas, Texas/Life Charter) added 40 yards on 10 carries.  Leiran became the seventh player with 30 or more touchdowns in his career.

McNutt was 28-of-30 passing for 302 yards.  He set career-highs in passing yards and completions.  It was the 28th 300-yard game in school history, while his 28 completions were the third most in school history.  McNutt became the 17th player with 100 completions in a season in school history.

Senior Kris Hopkins (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) had a team-high eight receptions for 63 yards.  Senior Jared Kuehner (Center Point, Iowa/Center Point-Urbana) had six receptions for 35 yards, while junior Keaton Juergens (Elkader, Iowa/Central Elkader) tied a career-high with five receptions for 67 yards.  Senior Jacob Workman (Chadwick, Ill./Milledgeville) had four receptions for 31 yards, while Leiran caught three passes for 40 yards.

Senior Zach West (Tiffin, Iowa/Clear Creek-Amana) and senior Bryce Sampson (Roland, Iowa/Roland-Story) led the defense with six tackles apiece.  West had a sack and two tackles for loss, while Sampson had a tackle for loss.  JuniorJordan Atwater (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Linn-Mar) had five tackles, while junior Mitch Montgomery (Lisbon, Iowa/Lisbon), sophomore Dustin Elsbury (Byron, Ill./Byron) and junior Dylan Youel (Traer, Iowa/North Tama) each had four tackles.  Weymiller finished with two sacks and two tackles for loss with his forced fumble. He now has 29.5 sacks and 46 tackles for loss in his career.

Coe returns to action on Saturday, as they host Wartburg.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Clark Field. A link for live video and live stats can be found at CoeAthletics.com.