5 Iowa college football storylines: Coe looks for rebound win, Trenton Barnes approaches 1,000 rush yards

How will Coe respond after its lone loss of the season? Wartburg owns a shutout streak against Luther. Upper Iowa tries to stay near the top of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and more. Here are five storylines in Iowa small college football this weekend.

Coe looks to return to winning ways at Buena Vista

Coe is coming off its first setback of the season, falling to rival Wartburg, 14-7, last week at Clark Field. The Kohawks (7-1, 5-1 American Rivers Conference) are now on the outside looking in for the conference title. The good news is Buena Vista (1-6, 1-4) is next on the schedule and Coe has enjoyed plenty of success against the Beavers, winning 14 straight games dating back to 2009. The Kohawks won 52-7 last season and average 32.76 points per game in the series. Coe will have a huge advantage with its offense against the BV defense. The Kohawks lead the conference with 217.9 yards per game. The Beavers are last, giving up 253.7 yards a contest.

Trenton Barnes is atop the A-R-C rush standings, amassing 917 yards and nine touchdowns. Barnes, who averages 114.6 yards a game on the ground, could surpass 1,000 rushing yards, becoming the first Kohawk to hit that plateau since Trevor Heitland ran for 1,913 yards in 2016.

Wartburg’s shutout streak against Luther

The 11th-ranked Knights have shut down and shut out the Norse in their last three meetings. Wartburg has held them scoreless for 14 straight quarters. The streak began in the fourth quarter of the Knights’ 62-10 win in 2019. Wartburg shut out Nebraska Wesleyan and held Coe and Central to single digits already this season. The Knights defense is led by former Decorah prep Keenan Tyler, who has 70 total tackles. Justin Grieff, Conner McDonald and former West Delaware prep Christian Nunley are tied for the team lead with five tackles for loss. Luther averages 7.6 points per game and was shut out by Coe.

Knights quarterback Carter Markham is approaching 1,500 offensive yards, entering Saturday’s Luther game with 1,261 passing yards and 182 rushing. A Wartburg win would all but clinch the American Rivers Conference title.

Upper Iowa attempts to stay among GLVC leaders

Despite a loss to Great Lakes Valley Conference leader University of Indianapolis on Saturday, the Peacocks are in second place. Upper Iowa is 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference, a half-game ahead of three teams including upcoming opponent McKendree (Ill.) University. The Bearcats won the first meeting between the two schools, which was a 41-34 victory in overtime last year in Fayette.

Upper Iowa’s Jayden Mitchell ranks third in the conference in all-purpose yards. He has 649 rushing yards, 91 receiving yards and 372 kick return yards for 1,112 total yards, averaging 123.6 per game. Interestingly, Mitchell, a graduate student from St. Louis, Mo., started his college career at McKendree.

Lisbon’s Brant Baltes is a pillar in Monmouth’s defense

Former Lisbon all-state player Brant Baltes has had a strong senior campaign for Monmouth (Ill.) College, ranking fourth on the team with 33 total tackles. He is coming off his season high with five solo tackles in a win over Beloit College Saturday. Baltes has tallied 22 solo tackles with 11 assists, 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks this season. The Fighting Scots are 6-1 overall and 6-0 in the Midwest Conference. They host Ripon (Wis.) College this weekend.

Grand View tries to remain perfect

The Vikings are 7-0 overall and remain No. 2 in the NAIA national rankings. They are 3-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a home game against William Penn (3-4, 2-2) on Saturday. Grand View has won 56 straight regular-season games, dating back to an 11-0 regular-season mark in 2019. Also, the two programs play for the Rock and Ladder Trophy. The Vikings have possessed the trophy for the last six games with the Statesmen’s last win in the series coming in 2017.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com