Coe hopes to reload, not rebuild

CEDAR RAPIDS – You've got left tackle Lathan Bass, wide receivers Nick Lenstra and Elijah Phillips, quarterback Josh Rekers and linebacker Gaetano Tarantino. That's it.

You want to know Coe College's returning football starters? There you go.

It's a short list of names, a whopping five of them.

'We have some questions marks, but it's not like we're young,” head coach Steve Staker said Monday, during the team's media day. 'We have a lot of seniors coming back on offense and a few that are back on defense as well. We lost a lot of kids, 25 of them, and the majority were starters. But a lot of these guys got opportunities to play last yeaqr, so hopefully it's a case where we're going to reload.”

That's been the annual deal under Staker, who is 46-18 in six seasons and has led Coe to three NCAA Division III playoff berths, including two seasons ago. The Kohawks were 7-3 in 2013.

There are 27 letterwinners returning from that team.

'Every year, an Iowa Conference championship, that's what we're looking for,” Tarantino said. 'The guys we have out there, they refuse to say no. I believe whole-heartedly we can win the championship this year.”

It was interesting that everyone interviewed Monday said defense has been the best part of the Kohawks early in camp. If you didn't notice, Tarantino – a senior linebacker from Vallejo, Calif. – is the only returning starter there.

But safety Evan Bolt, linebacker Mitch Berendes and lineman Matt Schmitz were among the team's top 10 tacklers and return. They are part of a 24-man senior class.

And junior Mark Atwater (from Linn-Mar) is a linebacker after spending two injury filled seasons at quarterback.

'When you go back to his (prep) playing days, he was an elite, all-state linebacker,” Staker said. 'I think a lot of it was he wanted to try quarterback … But, man, I like him at linebacker. He's really looking good. Right now, as we go against each other, our defense looks pretty good. We play really fast, and I think in this league we have to play fast.”

'A lot of guys, maybe they weren't starters, but they got a lot of rotations (into games) last year,” Tarantino said. 'Everybody has gotten a lot of reps in at a lot of places, so as a team, maybe we don't have a lot of starters returning, but there is a lot of game experience. I think we're absolutely fine. I have no problems with the guys that are in there, and I trust all of them.”

Junior Josh Rekers threw for 14 touchdowns and a smidge under 1,900 yards as a first-year starting quarterback last year. He is receiving a big push from Division II Minnesota-Duluth transfer Gavin Glenn but has the edge because of his experience.

The skill positions seem fine with guys like Phillips, Lenstra and running backs Sam Lahr, Colton Storla and Colin Ferring. The line, however, is a concern.

'We think we've got guys who can step up,” Rekers said. 'We've got some returning guys, our skill positions are strong, our defense is looking good. We maybe don't have as many guys there who are returning starters, but they got playing time last year.”

The non-conference schedule is rather unforgiving, with the opener Sept. 6 at nationally ranked Wheaton (Ill.), the annual Coe-Cornell tussle Sept. 13 at Mount Vernon and the home opener Sept. 20 against Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

'That's a challenge for us,” Phillips said. 'We know we have to do two times more to be just as good because of our inexperience. But we're going to go out there every day and try and get better.”

'I think we're progressing well,” Staker said. 'It's not like we're trying to teach a lot of young guys new tricks. They are old guys who know the tricks. They just haven't had their opportunity to perform. Now they've got it, so here we go.”

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