Coe ‘mixes it up’ in 56-6 win over Nebraska Wesleyan, setting up showdown with No. 3 Wartburg

CEDAR RAPIDS — Coe’s Carter Maske has considered a career in sports media.

After all, he worked as an intern through a program set up by former Kohawk Curt Menefee — the Fox Sports broadcaster who hosts Fox NFL Sunday. The senior quarterback enjoyed time in Los Angeles and staying at UCLA last summer. So, what would Maske’s headline be for Coe’s latest victory?

“Coe mixes it up for a big win or something like that,” Maske said with a smile. “I’m thinking offensively, of course, but the defense dominated, too, so you’d have to include that in the title.”

Maske summed up the performance perfectly. Coe dominated both sides of the ball, scoring at will on offense and stifling Nebraska Wesleyan to the end of a 56-6 American Rivers Conference victory Saturday at Clark Field. Maske passed for 288 yards and four touchdowns in about two quarters of action as the Kohawks (4-0, 2-0) celebrated Homecoming with their seventh straight win over the Prairie Wolves.

“The challenge was we have to put 60 minutes of football together and we did to the final seconds where we created a takeaway in the final seconds inside the 5,” Coe Coach Tyler Staker said. “I’m really happy with how our guys played and our performance. I thought we executed well on offense and our defense continues to be really tough on offenses to move the football.”

The Kohawks didn’t necessarily attack with a quick-strike offense, but they were extremely efficient. Coe wasted little time building a 35-0 halftime lead, producing three first-half scoring drives in under two minutes with two others that lasted 2:06 and 2:12.

“We had some opportunities to get vertical and get downfield,” Maske said. “When you have playmakers like we do, it makes it easy because they get open pretty well.”

Look no further than a receiving corps highlighted by Zamari Bruce and Dominic Shepardson. They hauled in two of Maske’s four touchdown passes.

Bruce finished with 140 receiving yards, including two cheer-inducing diving catches. The first was a 34-yard gain to the NWU 15, converting a third-and-6 and setting up Ray Seidel’s 5-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead. The second was a 36-yard grab in the end zone to cap the opening drive of the third and increasing Coe’s lead to 42-0.

Shepardson added 84 yards on eight receptions, including a 7-yard TD catch in the second quarter. Amel Saric (Maske’s high school teammate at Waterloo West) reeled in a 21-yard scoring strike in first quarter. Each made highlight-reel plays that Maske would gladly edit together.

“Those guys are going to go get it,” Maske said. “All three of them can do it. We’ve seen it from all of them. Zamari bailed me out a couple times. It makes my job easier.

Maske completed 17 of 28 attempts and increased his season yardage total to 876. He benefited from a productive rush game that produced 233 yards. The balanced run game was led by Jacob Brecht’s 71 yards, Seidel’s 64 and a score and Trenton Barnes’ 99 total yards and three scores.

Barnes broke through the line and burst for a 28-yard score in the opening minute of the second quarter. He also grabbed a screen pass, accelerated, received a downfield block and broke it to the outside, diving for the pylon to finish a 34-yard TD pass with 3:29 left before the half. Barnes scored on a 4-yard run in the third to make it 49-0.

“I was happy we had really good rhythm and balance offensively,” Staker said. “We got the run game going and we were able to sprinkle in some play-action passes. I felt like we all executed well, offensively.”

Coe’s defense continues to stifle opponents. The Kohawks starters held NWU to just 80 yards and one first down through the first two quarters.

Nebraska Wesleyan (3-1, 1-1) was held to more than 100 yards less than its average of 385 yards per game, including just 93 rushing, even with reserves playing for most of the second half. The Kohawks didn’t want a repeat of last season when the Prairie Wolves jumped to a 14-0 lead.

“We’re feeling really good right now,” Coe linebacker Jay Oostendorp said. “Something we really focused on this last two weeks is playing team defense, doing our jobs and focusing on our assignments. Plays will happen if we do that. We’re really confident right now, playing as a team.”

The Kohawks will travel to Waverly next week to face No. 3 Wartburg. The Knights (4-0, 2-0) thumped Simpson 63-0 Saturday at Indianola. The game should be the decisive factor in the American Rivers Conference title race.

“We’re all really excited,” Oostendorp said. “It’s been circled on the calendar since January. We’re really in for it.”

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com