CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Coe College scored the first 28 points of the game on Saturday, as the Kohawks cruised to a 35-20 win over Wisconsin-River Falls in the first game under new head coach Tyler Staker.
On the second play of the game, Rory Siddell (Solon, Iowa/Solon) intercepted a Sawyer Moon pass at the Falcon 35 yard line.Trevor Heitland (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) touched the ball on all five plays of the drive, capping it with a seven-yard touchdown run with 12:41 to play in the first quarter. Brandon Abbas (Aplington, Iowa/Aplington Parkersburg) knocked the point-after attempt through, giving Coe a 7-0 lead.
The Kohawk defense came up big on the next possession, stopping the Falcons on fourth down at the Coe 31 yard line. This time, the Kohawks went 69 yards on 11 plays for a score. The big play of the drive came on third and 18 from the Coe 49 yard line. Gavin Glenn(Adel, Iowa/ADM) found Demetrius Harper (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) for a 49-yard gain to the one-yard line. Heitland then plowed in from a yard out with 5:04 left in the first quarter. Abbas punched the kick through, giving Coe a 14-0 lead.
Siddell once again came up with an interception on the first drive of the second quarter. The Kohawks went 80 yards on just five plays on the next possession, highlighted by three passes of over 23 yards apiece by Glenn. The drive ended on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Glenn to Heitland. The kick by Abbas was good, as Coe took a 21-0 lead with 9:09 left in the first half.
The Falcons first possession of the second half ended on a muffed punt, as the Kohawks took over at the Falcons 23 yard line. On the next play, Glenn found Heitland for a 23-yard touchdown pass. The Abbas kick gave Coe a 28-0 lead with 10:53 to play in the third quarter. Wisconsin-River Falls put up its first points of the game on the next possession, as Trenton Monson rushed in from 15-yards out with 8:26 to play in the third quarter. Drew Heitland (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) blocked the PAT, as Coe led 28-6.
Late in the third quarter, Glenn struck again. This time he found Mitchell Malloy (Riverside, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 1:23 left in the third quarter. The Abbas kick gave Coe a 35-6 lead into the fourth quarter. The Falcons scored twice in the final seven minutes, leaving Coe with a 35-20 victory.
Coe held a 142-134 advantage on the ground, while also holding a 308-292 advantage in passing yards. Coe totaled 450 yards of offense on 79 plays, while the Falcons had 426 yards on 92 plays. Coe held a 31:28 to 28:32 advantage in time of possession. Both teams were 7-of-16 on third downs. Coe was 1-of-2 on fourth downs, while the Falcons were 1-of-5.
T. Heitland rushed 16 times for 80 yards, including two touchdowns. Brandon Roseberry (Center Point, Iowa/Center Point-Urbana) carried the ball a game-high 21 times for 76 yards. Glenn was 19-of-31 passing for 308 yards, while also throwing three touchdowns. T. Heitland caught a game-high seven passes for 135 yards, including a pair of scores. Seth Williams (Kahoka, Mo./Clark County) caught four passes for 41 yards, while Colton Martin(Alburnett, Iowa/Alburnett) caught four passes for 33 yards. Harper finished with three receptions for 83 yards.
Dylan Stepleton (Tipton, Iowa/Wilton) led the Kohawks with eight tackles, while Siddell added seven. Jarred Hodge (Ormond Beach, Fla./Mainland), Mason Van Gorp (Pella, Iowa/Pella), Austin Troendle (Waukon, Iowa/Waukon) and Nick Elsbury (Byron, Ill./Byron) each had six tackles. Jake Morris (Solon, Iowa/Solon) had a sack, while D. Heitland had six quarterback hurries.
The Kohawks (1-0) return to action next Saturday, as they travel to Linn County Rival Cornell. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Mount Vernon.