CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The No. 5-ranked Falcon football team earned a convincing nationally ranked road win Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 21 Coe College 38-6 at Clark Field.
The Falcons, now 2-0 on the season, built their lead behind an electric offensive attack and another dominant defensive performance. UWRF finished with 472 total yards of offense while only allowing the Kohawks just 159. The Falcon defense recorded seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss on the afternoon.
Starting quarterback
Peter McDevitt led the Falcons on the opening possession before exiting the game early. Senior
Cade Fitzgerald stepped in, didn't skip a beat and directed the offense for the remainder of the afternoon, completing 19 of 24 passes for 221 yards, three touchdowns and added a team-high 68 rushing yards and another score.
Coe struck first after recovering a UWRF fumble on the opening possession. The Kohawks drove into Falcon territory before the UWRF defense held, forcing a 29-yard Jake Collett field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Fitzgerald wasted no time, answering almost immediately. After five consecutive
Ashten Quade carries moved UWRF to midfield, Fitzgerald connected with
Austin Rush for a 49-yard touchdown, giving the Falcons a 7-3 advantage with 2:42 remaining in the first quarter.
UWRF began to pull away in the second quarter. Starting from their own seven-yard line, the Falcons marched 93 yards over 14 plays, with Fitzgerald finding
Stephen Reifenberger for a 15-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-3.
The Falcons followed with another lengthy scoring drive. Fitzgerald guided the offense 72 yards in nine plays, keeping the ball himself for a three-yard touchdown with 1:28 remaining in the half. The Falcon defense quickly forced another Coe punt, UWRF covered 52 yards in the final 51 seconds when
Johnny Figgins connected on a 44-yard field goal as time expired, sending the Falcons into halftime ahead 24-3.
After the break, following a Coe punt, the Falcons put together their third scoring drive of at least 80 yards, traveling 80 yards in 14 plays. Fitzgerald capped the possession with a two-yard touchdown pass to
Trevor Asher, pushing the advantage to 31-3 midway through the third quarter.
The Falcon defense joined in on the scoring, finding the end zone just 10 seconds later. On Coe's first play of the ensuing possession, Josiah Groeneweg fumbled and
Noah Nusbaum recovered at the Coe 20. Nusbaum returned the ball 15 yards before lateraling to
Andre Hall, who finished the final five yards for the touchdown to give UWRF a 38-3 lead.
Coe managed a 45-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons kept the Kohawks out of the end zone for the entirety of the afternoon to close out the 38-6 victory.
Fitzgerald accounted for 289 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. Rush led the receiving corps with five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, while
Ben Wesolowski totaled 49 yards on four receptions. Reifenberger added three catches for 43 yards and a score, and Asher caught four passes for 24 yards and a touchdown.
The Falcons rushed for 217 yards, led by Fitzgerald's 68 yards on 14 carries.
TJ Washtock Jr. totaled 50 yards on six attempts, Asher added 48 yards on 10 carries, and Quade finished with 38 yards on seven attempts. UWRF finished with 30 first downs and possessed the ball for more than 35 minutes.
Defensively,
Beau Schrot led UWRF with seven tackles and a sack, while Nusbaum totaled six tackles, 1.5 sacks and the fumble recovery that produced the defensive touchdown.
Kody Curtis recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Levi Bolstad,
Dominic Miller and
Prince Frahm also added a sack a piece as UWRF held Coe to 0.5 yards per rushing attempt.
The victory follows UWRF's 73-7 season-opening win over Southern Virginia, moving the defending national champions to 2-0 on the year.
Next Saturday, Sept. 19, the Falcon wrap up their non-conference schedule with another trip to Iowa, traveling to face nationally ranked Wartburg College. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Waverly, Iowa.
