Luther drops conference opener to coe 19-6
Sept. 19, 2009
Coe jumped out to a 16-0 halftime lead en route to a 19-6 decision over Luther this afternoon in Cedar Rapids. This was the conference opener for both teams.
The Kohawks scored all 16 points of the first half in the second quarter. They took a 2-0 lead when Norse punter Donny Norlander was caught for a safety at 13:46. A 13-play, 77 yard drive capped off with a two-yard run, gave Coe a 9-0 lead with 4:02 remaining in the half. Coe's final tally took just over two minutes. This 11-play drive covered 72 yards, ending with a five-yard pass with just 32 ticks left on the clock.
Coe's final score of the game was a 20-yard field goal with three minutes remaining in the game.
Trevor Theobald scored Luther's lone touchdown, his third of the year, at the 9:21 mark of the third quarter. A 16-yard punt set up the three-play 28-yard score.
Offensively, Coe produced 386 yards of total offense thanks to a balanced attack of 184 on the ground and 202 in the air. Luther was credited 272 yards, 121 on the ground and 151 in the air.
Running back Derek Leigh had another solid outing producing 72 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Chris Reynolds was 12-of-30 and was picked off once. Wide receiver Steve Thompson got his first collegiate start and hauled in six passes for 71 yards.
Defensively, Kyle McGivney led all tackles with 10 that included 1.5 sacks. Josh Patterson was credited with seven, while Jordan Grimm and Theobald both tallied 5.5.
"I was proud of the way our team battled throughout the game this afternoon," stated head coach Mike Durnin. "Due to some injuries, we had some young kids that played some major roles today. We just need to play more consistent. We left our defense on the field way to long and you aren't going to win many games with a minus turnover margin. Coe is a good football team. We have a bye week this week, and we will use is to get better and really work on our consistency in all phases of the game."
The loss drops Luther's overall record to 1-2. Coe remains undefeated at 3-0.
Luther will return to action on Oct. 3, when the Norse will host Simpson College for Homecoming. Kick-off will take place in Carlson Stadium at 1:00 p.m. If you can't make the game in person, you can catch all the action via video stream starting with the pre-game show at 12:40 p.m.
