Coe College and Cornell started playing each other in 1891. The “oldest college football rivalry west of the Mississippi River” has been played for 135 years. The two schools are just 14.5 miles apart and play annually with the winner taking the Bremner Cup Trophy home to the trophy case.
The Cedar Rapids-based Kohawks and Rams faced off for a rare Thursday Night opener on Cornell’s Van Metre Field at Ash Park in Mt. Vernon.
The Coe Kohawks are coming off back-to-back NCAA DIII football playoff appearances, and the Rams are entering a new era under Coach Curt Ritchie (Iowa High School Hall of Fame Coach) who is in his first year after leading Williamsburg, IA high school to great success including a recent state title.
The Rams are building their program in the Midwest Conference, while Coe is a proven power in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C), a top DIII league that for the last two seasons has placed two teams in the NCAA playoffs.
Coe was after their 25th straight win in the rivalry on a perfect night for football on the picturesque Cornell Campus.
Brandon “Rose” Roseberry and Jordan Cole from our SGI team were at the game, getting some great game footage and talking with a few coaches pre-game. Thanks to the guys for putting in the work (Rose played in this rivalry game four times as a Kohawk).
It did not take long to see the first score as Coe got off to a blistering fast start and struck first in their 62-6 win.
Coe QB Brady Kelly hit WR Devon Kollasch (Dike New Hartford) with a 49-yard strike for the first score of the night for the 7-0 Coe lead. (Kollasch had 4 catches for 108 yards and 2 TDs to lead the Kohawks)
The Kohawks got on a roll and dominated the first half with almost 400 yards of total offense in the first half. The Kohawks scored touchdowns on their first 5 possessions.
Coe QB Brady Kelly found James Hutton for his third TD pass in the first half and finished 16-19 for 291 yards in 3 TDs
Coe poured it on with an Interception return of 55 yards for a touchdown by Brant Tedrow (Cantril, IA – Van Buren HS) to take a commanding 42-0 halftime lead.
The Coe defense pitched a shutout in the first half and dominated the first half. The Kohawks leading tackler was Ryker Dengler (West Liberty, IA) with 5 tackles on the night. Coe held Cornell to 179 yards of total offense while amassing 579 yards of offense in the game.
At the start of the second half, QB Luke Smith came on for Coe and showed his command and touch by connecting with Jackson Bathke (Urbandale, IA High School) for a nice touchdown. Luke Smith had a strong second half going 7-12 for 84 yards and a TD.
Our SGI team was impressed with the very strong and sharp QB play from the Kohawks, and the balanced rushing attack led by Andrew White with 8 Carries for 67 yards and 2 TDs. Coe RB’s Quincy Hunter and Tre’Sean Cummingham both also rushed for 40+ yards and one TD each on the night.
Cornell did not get the outcome they wanted in Coach Ritchie’s debut, but showed fight with RB Boo Boo Browning reaching the end zone for the Rams lone score in the 62-6 loss.
The Rams will look to get back on track in their next outing against when they start their Midwest Conference season at home against the University of Chicago on September 13th.
Coe College goes on the road for a tough test against nationally ranked UW-River Falls (#19) in River Falls, Wisconsin, on Saturday, September 13th, before beginning their A-R-C conference season.
Our SGI teams wanted to give a big thanks to the Cornell Athletic Department for having us out to Mt. Vernon to cover the game. We appreciate the hospitality.
As always, we appreciate your comments and support.
