The final play saw both teams storm the field, thinking they had won the game. Coe claimed the clock had hit zero before the ball was snapped, while the Duhawks ran the play either way, with McGrew going off the right side for his third touchdown off the game. After a discussion, the play was ruled a touchdown, giving the Duhawks the lead on the final play.
The Kohawk offense was stuffed on a three-and-out on their first possession, giving the Duhawks the ball at the Coe 43 yard line. It took only five plays for the Duhawks to score, as McGrew raced 22 yards to the corner of the end zone for the game's first points.
Taking their time on the next drive, the Kohawks converted on three third down tries on the next drive. Junior Sam Hammes (Story City, Iowa/Roland-Story) rushed two yards for the first points for Coe, as they finished a 14 play, 70 yard drive. The drive took nearly six minutes off the clock.
After both teams exchanged punts, the Duhawks put together a long drive of their own. McGrew rushed for his second touchdown of the game, this time from just one yard out. The touchdown capped a 12 play, 65 yard drive, lasting over six and a half minutes.
Coe was once again forced to punt after another three-and-out, but quickly regained possession of the ball as senior Aaron Hadenfeldt (Solon, Iowa/Solon) sacked quarterback Vaughn Gesing, forcing the ball to come loose. Sophomore Taylor Stroud (Winterset, Iowa/Winterset) jumped on the ball, giving the Kohawks possession at the Duhawk 36 yard line. It took the Kohawks just three plays to tie the game, as senior CJ Feller (Waukegan, Ill./Warren Township) connected with Hammes on a 12-yard touchdown pass.
With :14 remaining in the first half, senior Tommy Breitbach (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) blocked a 30-yard field goal attempt by Taylor Buhmeyer. Coe took a knee to end the first half.
Neither team had a clean start to the second half, as senior Kyle Brockmeyer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) intercepted a pass from Gesing on the third play of the half. Coe was forced to punt the ball away just three plays later. After forcing a punt by the Duhawks, Coe turned the ball over on their next possession. It took just two plays for Brockmeyer to make another huge play, as he came up with a diving interception, his second of the game. One play later, Hammes busted up the middle, breaking five tackles along the way, for a 62-yard touchdown run, giving Coe its first lead of the game at 21-14.
Both teams exchanged punts to end the third quarter. Loras cut into the Coe lead on the opening drive of the fourth quarter. Buhmeyer connected on this second field goal attempt of the game, this time from 37 yards out. The field goal made it 21-17 in favor of the Kohawks with 10 minutes to play.
Trying to eat up as much clock time as possible, the Kohawks were forced to punt after taking 5:02 off the clock on eight plays.
With the fans at Clark Field on their feet making plenty of noise, Loras took over with 4:52 to play from its own 18 yard line. On third and three from their own 25 yard line, the Duhawks were stopped, as Hadenfeldt broke up a Gesing pass intended for Chris Swift. After the play, senior Jordan Wilkens (Altoona, Iowa/SE Polk) was flagged for a personal foul, giving the Duhawks an automatic first down and an extra 15 yards on the play.
Two plays later, the Kohawks forced another incomplete pass by Gesing, but were hit with another 15-yard late hit penalty, this one going against junior Tate Harrison (Nevada, Iowa/Nevada). The hit gave the Duhawks another automatic first down, keeping the drive alive as they advanced to the Coe 45 yard line. On fourth and three from the Coe 38 yard line, McGrew rushed off the right side for five yards, giving the Duhawks a first down with 1:30 to play in the game.
After a 10-yard reception by Ben McMahon, the Duhawks were hit with a holding penalty, giving them first and 15 from the Coe 28 yard line. On the very next play, Brockmeyer was hit with a pass interference call, giving the Duhawks their third automatic first down of the drive. On third and 20, the Duhawks completed a 19-yard screen play to McGrew. Loras took its final timeout with :27 remaining, as they faced fourth and one from the Coe four-yard line.
McGrew then rushed three straight times to the right side, with the final one putting him across the goal line as the clock expired. The score capped an 82-yard drive for the Duhawks, with 45 of those yards coming from Coe penalties.
Coe tallied 248 yards off offense on just 49 plays, while it took the Duhawks 72 plays to get 250 yards. The two teams combined for 17 penalties, with Coe being flagged for 122 yards in penalties. The top defense in the league on third downs, the Duhawks held Coe to just four of ten on third down conversions.
Hammes had a team-high 100 yards on 13 carries, including two for touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 26 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Michael Rozum (Byron, Ill./Byron) ran for 40 yards on nine carries, while fellow sophomore Patrick Wallace (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South) rushed three times for 19 yards. Sophomore Nick Ratchford (Waterloo, Iowa/Columbus) caught a game-high five passes for 29 yards.
Junior Calvin Thomas (Westchester, Ill./St. Joseph's) led all defenders with 14 tackles, including nine solos. Harrison also tallied nine solo tackles, while having 13 total. He also had four tackles for a loss. Brockmeyer finished with eight tackles and two interceptions. Hadenfeldt added seven total tackles, including two sacks and four tackles for a loss.
The Kohawks will return to action next Saturday as they travel to Simpson. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Indianola.
