MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - For the second-straight week, Coe College put together an impressive second half, as the Kohawks defeated Cornell 50-21 for their 15th-straight victory in the Oldest Football Rivalry West of the Mississippi River.
A quick three-and-out by the Kohawk defense gave the offense the ball at its own 33-yard line. On 10 plays, Coe put the first points on the scoreboard as Sam Lahr(Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware) went untouched for an 11-yard touchdown, giving Coe a 7-0 lead with 9:42 to play in the first quarter. The Rams evened the score on Coe's next offensive possession.Josh Rekers (Dike, Iowa/Dike-New Hartford) was sacked in the end zone by Henry Gonzalez, who recovered a fumble for a touchdown, leaving the game tied with 7:15 left in the opening frame.
The Kohawks answered in a big way. A 13-play, 75-yard drive was helped by a 21-yard pass from Rekers to Trevor Heitland(Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) on fourth-and-eight at the Cornell 22. Lahr plunged in on the next play, as Coe went ahead 14-7 with 2:31 to play in the opening quarter. Neither offense could get anything going in the second quarter, which featured both teams throwing an interception on back-to-back possessions. Coe took its 14-7 lead into the locker room.
On its second possession of the third quarter, the Kohawks used good field position for a 34-yard touchdown drive. Facing fourth-and-seven, Rekers found Lahr for a 15-yard completion. Three-plays later, Lahr scored for the third time on a one-yard run. A bad snap on the point-after attempt led to a Rekers pass to Alex Christenson (Oskaloosa, Iowa/Oskaloosa) for a two-point conversion, as Coe went ahead 22-7 with 10:18 to play in the third quarter.
The Rams marched right down the field to get back in the game. A 10-play, 71-yard drive was capped by a three-yard touchdown run by Devan Clark with 6:52 to play in the quarter, as Cornell cut the lead to 22-14. It was all Kohawks after that. With 3:02 to play in the third quarter, Rekers found Heitland for a 74-yard touchdown pass, giving Coe a 29-14 lead.
Coe started the fourth quarter with a fourth-down stop, taking over at its own 21-yard line. A 51-yard run by Lahr and a 27-yard pass from Rekers to Heitland led to a one-yard touchdown run by Rekers, as Coe took a 36-14 lead with 14:21 to play. The Kohawk defense came up with another three-and-out, which gave Coe the ball back with 13:17 to play.
Rekers went upstairs once again, finding Nicholas Lenstra for a 42-yard touchdown pass with 10:18 to play, as Coe took a 43-14 lead. The final touchdown of the game for the Kohawks came with 3:22 to play. Facing third-and-seven, Gavin Glenn(Adel, Iowa/ADM) found Kevin Martinez (Miami, Fla./Killian) for a 46-yard touchdown pass, as Coe went ahead 50-14. Cornell ended the game with a 10-play, 63-yard drive that resulted in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Brown to Gabriel Noyce with :04 to play.
With the win, Coe improved to 70-50-4 all-time against the Rams. In the 15-straight victories, the longest streak of the series, Coe has scored more than 50 points six times. Cornell's 21 points were the most for the Rams since Coe's 56-21 win in 2005.
Coe rushed for 113 yards, while the Rams went for 127. Coe had 402 yards passing, the fourth most in school history. The Rams were held to 175 yards in the air. Coe was 4-of-13 on third downs, while Cornell was 6-of-19. Coe went 3-of-4 on fourth downs, while the Rams were 1-of-2.
Lahr rushed 24 times for 139 yards and three touchdowns. Preston Ritchie led the Rams with 71 yards on 18 carries.
Rekers topped his career high from last week with 343 yards passing against the Rams. He was 18-of-30 with two touchdowns. Glenn went 2-for-3 for 59 yards. Heitland finished with a game-high 176 yards on seven receptions. His 176 yards are the eighth most in school history. Dan Kopp (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) caught three passes for 55 yards, while Lahr and Dominik Lensing (Calmar, Iowa/South Winneshiek) had two receptions apiece. Coe had 10 different players catch a pass, while eight different players rushed the ball.
Mitchell Berendes (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) led the defense with 11 tackles, eight of which were solo. Mark Atwater(Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Linn-Mar) finished with nine tackles, while Gaetano Tarantino had eight. Bryce Alberts (Swisher, Iowa/Prairie) finished with six tackles, while Brad Siebel (Eagle Center, Iowa/Union) had five. Dylan Stepleton (Tipton, Iowa/Wilton) recorded an interception.
After a pair of road games to open the season, Coe will take the field in Cedar Rapids for the first time next week. The Kohawks will face Wisconsin-Stevens Point in a Homecoming game at Clark Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. A link for live video and live stats can be found on the homepage of CoeAthletics.com.