Neither team could put together a drive of more than 30 yards until Luther's final drive of the first quarter. The Norse took the ball 32 yards on 10 plays, but the Coe defense held Luther on three plays inside the six yard line, forcing the Norse to kick a 20-yard field goal, giving them a 3-0 lead with :52 left in the opening frame. The drive started from an interception by Alex Mierau of Coe quarterback Patrick Wallace (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South)
On Luther's first possession of the second quarter, they drove 81 yards on 11 plays to take a 10-0 lead on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Chris Reynolds to Kris McAllister. The Norse quickly gained control of the ball again, as freshman Brad Boyle (New Sharon, Iowa/North Mahaska) threw an interception on the third play of the drive. Neither team could put up any points for the remainder of the half, with the Norse leading 10-0 at the break.
The ball started bouncing the Kohawks way at the start of the second half. On the opening kickoff of the half, freshman Curtis Cannon (Bellwood, Ill./Nazareth Academy) returned the kickoff 22 yards before fumbling, when senior Chad Reifschneider (Hubbard, Iowa/Colo Nesco) recovered the ball and took it 72-yards for his first career touchdown.
After both teams exchanged back-to-back punts twice, Luther put its final points of regulation on the scoreboard with a five-yard touchdown pass from Reynolds to Jesse Kent. The touchdown capped a 12-play, 83 yard drive. Luther missed the extra point attempt.
Luther entered the fourth quarter with a 16-7 lead, but it was the opening drive of the fourth quarter that turned things around for the Kohawks. Coe was forced to punt after three plays. Kent fielded the punt at the Luther eight yard line and fumbled the ball into the end zone, where sophomore Tyler Takes (Ely, Iowa/Solon) recovered for a touchdown, cutting the lead to two with 14:12 to play.
Both teams then exchanged punts, but it was the 33-yard punt by freshman Ryan Langel (New Vienna, Iowa/Beckman) that put the Kohawk defense in good position. His punt went out of bounds at the Luther one yard line. Reynolds pass went incomplete on first down, but a draw up the middle resulted in a safety for the Kohawks, tying the game at 16 with 10:40 to play.
Four more punts resulted in the Kohawks taking their final possession of the fourth quarter with 2:53 to play at the 50-yard line. On the first play, junior Sam Hammes (Story City, Iowa/Roland-Story) rushed for 13-yards for another Kohawk first down. Two plays later, Boyle hooked up with Hammes on a 25-yard pass, that put the Kohawks at the Luther 12 yard line. Sophomore Herve Cantrell (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) and Hammes rushed on back-to-back carries, putting the ball at the three yard line. On third and one, Hammes fumbled the ball at the three yard line, where the Norse recovered. Luther took a knee on the final play, sending the game to overtime.
Coe won the toss in overtime and elected to go on defense first. The Kohawk defense came up big on three-straight plays, forcing the Norse to kick a 37-yard field goal. The kick was good, putting the Norse up 19-16. On the Kohawks first play of overtime, Boyle found sophomore Ryan Jones (Harpers Ferry, Iowa/Waukon) in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown pass, sealing the Kohawk win.
Boyle finished the game six of 10 for 89 yards and a touchdown. Hammes tallied 95 yards on 24 carries. Jones finished with 42 yards receiving on two receptions.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior Calvin Thomas (Westchester, Ill./St. Joseph's) hit the 100 tackle mark of the year with 15 on the day. Tate Harrison (Nevada, Iowa/Nevada) added 11 tackles and two tackles for loss. The Coe defense had three sacks on the day, doubling the season total the Norse had given up on the year.
Coe returns to action next Saturday, as they host league-leading Buena Vista. It will be senior day for the Kohawks, as they kick off at 1 p.m.
