Coe’s running back by committee leads Kohawks to 37-10 victory

CEDAR RAPIDS – Coe’s backfield is a running back by committee.

The Kohawks have a trio of backs that have shared carries this season. Competition makes it imperative to capitalize on opportunities. Tre’Sean Cunningham made the most of his chances.

Cunningham produced Coe’s first 100-yard rushing performance of the season, amassing 139 yards and a touchdown, in a 37-10 victory over Buena Vista in an American Rivers Conference football game Saturday at Clark Field. The Kohawks rushed for a season-high 335 yards.

“Our offensive line did a great job blocking for us,” Cunningham said. “Coach called a great scheme today. Went over everything in film, teaching me where the hole is supposed to hit and how to read the backers. Just great preparation.”

Cunningham splits series with Isaiah Lee and Quincy Plummer. The trio balances competition with one another and wanting the best for the team. Lee ran for 75 yards, while Drummer added 70.

“It’s a real big thing to me,” Cunningham said. “I feel we’re all dogs. We all deserve our opportunities. I try to compete every week and see who will be the top dog.”

Cunningham demonstrated his ability as a physical runner, running through defenders between tackles and maneuvering around tacklers in space. He is a versatile that averaged 11.6 yards, breaking a 49-yard run that set up a 9-yard TD pass from Brady Kelly to Latrell Taylor for a 24-10 lead in the third.

“He broke some tackles around the line of scrimmage and I think that’s always hard to do,” Coe Coach Tyler Staker said. “You get in the open field and make a guy miss but if you can make a guy miss in the box and around the line of scrimmage, breaks tackles.

“He just ran hard today. I feel that helped with our overall juice behind the run game.”

Cunningham found the end zone in the fourth, scoring on a 15-yard run for a 30-10 lead.

“One of our linemen pulled and I saw it,” Cunningham said. “I felt the pull. I made a guy miss and tried to finish in the end zone.”

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The Kohawks (3-2, 2-1) rushers and offensive line dominated Buena Vista all game. They didn’t have one run for a loss of yardage and blew away its previous best of 192 rushing yards in the season opener at Cornell.

“We challenged our guys up front and made a more concerted effort to run the football this week,” Staker said. “I was proud of our running backs. They ran really hard. Tre had a great game. All the running backs – Quincy and Ike – did, too.

“We wanted to be more balance,” Staker said. “Ultimately, we wanted to find a little more balance between the run and the pass.”

The Kohawks pass game has helped loosen the defense to run the ball. Saturday, the run opened up the pass. Kelly passed 240 yards and three scores, including two to Taylor.

Teams exchanged field goals to open the scoring. Buena Vista’s Tyler Pennington made a 34-yard kick. Coe answered with a Jake Collett 22-yard field goal, tying the score at 3-3 with 5:26 to play in the opening quarter.

Kelly connected with Latrell Taylor for a 39-yard scoring strike, capping a 61-yard drive on four plays and giving Coe 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Another Kelly pass found the end zone less than four minutes later. Kelly hit Jackson Baethke for a 5-yard TD, making it 17-3.

“It makes us more diverse on offense,” Staker said about the balanced effort. “It makes us harder to defend.”

Coe plays at Simpson next week.

Comments: k.j.pilcher@thegazette.com