It took the Knights just :13 in the second half to regain the lead, on a 67-yard touchdown pass. Neither team could put any points on the scoreboard for the rest of the game.
After winning the toss, the Kohawks took the ball from their own 28-yard line. On the first play of they game, sophomore Michael Rozum (Byron, Ill./Byron) fumbled the ball, giving the Knights possession at the Coe 25 yard line. In just three plays, the Knights had a 7-0 lead.
Coe's second possession stalled at the 50 yard line, where they were forced to punt. Cody Lerch's (Wadena, Iowa/Valley) 46-yard punt was downed at the Wartburg four yard line. In just five plays, the Knights were up 14-0, as Nick Yordi hooked up with Justin Vetter for a 72-yard touchdown pass that was nearly intercepted by senior Kyle Brockmeyer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy).
On the ensuing kickoff, freshman Curtis Cannon (Bellwood, Ill./Nazareth Academy) fumbled at the Coe 26 yard line. This time the defense held, giving up only four yards. The Knights were forced to kick a 38-yard field goal, which was good.
The Coe offense came alive at the halfway point of the first quarter. On second and five, junior Sam Hammes (Story City, Iowa/Roland-Story) busted an option play 57-yards down the sidelines for Coe's first touchdown of the day. After both teams exchanged punts, Brockmeyer redeemed himself from the earlier play with his first interception of the day, coming at the Coe 41 yard line.
Coe couldn't capitalize on the turnover, as they were forced to punt. Coe got the ball back from the Knights after another Knight punt and quickly went to work. Sophomore Patrick Wallace (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South) took a quarterback option 34-yards to the house for his first career-touchdown. Wallace started the game at quarterback in place of the injured CJ Feller (Waukegan, Ill./Warren Township).
With the lead cut to three, Brockmeyer intercepted his second pass of the game, giving the Kohawks possession at the Wartburg 49 yard line. After back-to-back positive runs by Hammes and Herve Cantrell (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) Wallace found sophomore Nick Ratchford (Waterloo, Iowa/Columbus) in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown pass, putting the Kohawks ahead 21-17. Wartburg added a 32-yard field goal with 2:13 remaining in the first half to cut the lead to one at the break.
After Wartburg's 67-yard touchdown pass to start the second half, neither team could capitalize inside the others territory. The Kohawk offense couldn't get anything going, as the farthest into Knight territory they could get was the 45-yard line. Coe twice recovered Wartburg fumbles in the second half, but weren't able to score off either of them.
On third and six from the Coe 24, Calvin Thomas (Westchester, Ill./St. Joseph's) stopped Lamar Harvey in the backfield, bringing up a fourth down for the Knights with 1:34 remaining, but a personal foul on Tate Harrison (Nevada, Iowa/Nevada) gave the Knights an automatic first down. The defense was able to stop the Knights, forcing a 34-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide right with :34 remaining in the game. After an incomplete on first down, Wallace was intercepted by Josh Faaborg to seal the win for the Knights. It was the sixth-straight win for Wartburg over the Kohawks.
Wartburg ran a total of 70 plays for 385 yards, the most by any Coe opponent on the year. The Kohawks were held to just 254 yards of offense on 44 plays. Hammes finished with a game-high 115 yards rushing on 14 carries. Wallace added 39 yards on the ground. Thomas and Harrison led all defenders with 13 and 12 tackles respectively. Jordan Wilkens (Altoona, Iowa/SE Polk) added 10 tackles, including three sacks and five tackles for a loss.
The Kohawks return to action next week, as they host defending league champion Central on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Clark Field.
