Coe tops Central in overtime thriller

CEDAR RAPIDS – Clay Krousie considered it a matter of time.

The Coe quarterback was confident they’d get the right matchup, he’d provide an almost perfectly-placed pass and teammate Jeron Senters would make the sticky-fingered catch in the end zone.

“We had a couple other shots at that,” Krousie said. “We knew at some point we were going to connect on it.”

Turns out it occurred at the best time for the Kohawks.

Krousie hit Senters for a 25-yard touchdown to end the second overtime, igniting the sidelines and home crowd after Coe’s 16-13 victory over Central in an American Rivers Conference football thriller Saturday at Clark Field. The Kohawks remained unbeaten at 6-0 and 3-0 in the conference.

“A lot of emotion in that one,” Krousie said. “It was a blood bath. A great battle.”

Defenses controlled the first half, allowing one field goal apiece. Offenses had success on the shortened field in overtime.

Central took a lead in the second overtime with a field goal. Krousie and Senters hit paydirt on the second play of their last possession. Krousie delivered a strike in the hands of Senters near the back right corner of the end zone with little-to-no margin of error.

“We just motioned a tight end over to get some defensive eyes to maybe move into that three receiver side,” Coe Coach Tyler Staker said. “Jeron’s a great competitor, great receiver and Clay put a perfect ball right in there to win it.”

Senters said Central took away lot of what the Kohawks wanted to do but he said he liked the chances of converting the play or at least drawing a penalty. They were willing to gamble.

"I just kind of made sure I left enough room in the back of the end zone for Clay to put it there and he made a great throw,” Senters said. “I just had to adjust to it."

The pass combo hooked up five times for 105 of Krousie’s 156 passing yards.

Krousie’s legs helped Coe move out of the first overtime. After a sack and delay penalty made it 2 nd-and-goal from the 17, Krousie ran off right end for a 17-yard touchdown for a 10-3 advantage.

“It was a backside pull,” Krousie said. “I’ve never done that before. I just saw they had a guy coming off the back. I had a receiver on a fade and he did a great job with the fake, taking the (defensive back) with him and he had his back to me. I had a lane to run.”

He took a hard hit as he approached the goal line.

“All I saw was that red end zone,” Krousie said. “That’s where I was headed.”

His rushing touchdown resulted from Krousie’s instincts and decision-making ability.

“He stepped up huge for us late in that ball game,” Staker said. “He felt that all that pressure and everything kind of shrinking into the box and just got out on the edge. He's been really good at those timely pulls.”

Former Mount Vernon prep Brady Ketchum stepped in at quarterback and hit Cam Schulte for a 5-yard TD pass in the first overtime.

Coe’s defense turned Central away on multiple short fields in regulation and then limited Central to a field goal in the second overtime.

"Just gutsy performance from everybody on the team," Coe’s Alex Aitchison said. "That's we pride ourselves on, our ability to dig deep in those moments, especially on the defensive side.

"We live for that opportunity to go make a game-changing play, you know. We just like to get after it.”

The Kohawk defense was unfazed when it had to take the field for back-to-back series from the first overtime to the second. They gave the offense a chance to go for the win.

“We know we’re good football players,” Aitchison said. “It’s just believing in ourselves, read our keys, go do our job and 11 guys doing their job. We’re going to make the play every time, so really do that. Trust, relying on the guy next to you and believe in everybody around you. Have some faith in the guy next to you, he’s gonna make the play.”

Coe and Central have combined to produce classics, including a 2016 game that came down to a blocked field goal with seven seconds left. This type of contest came as no surprise to Staker, who said he needed a few days to decompress after the game.

“It’s going to be a slobber knocker of a game,” Staker said. “It’s going to be one of those types of games. It’s going to come right down to the wire and you want to make one more play. Fortunately, we did today.”

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com