Football | October 2, 2015

DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - Following their bye week, the Loras football team returns to action on Saturday to open the Iowa Conference portion of their schedule.

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORD AGAINST COE •••
The Kohawks hold a 14-7-1 record all-time against the Kohawks. Loras last defeated Coe in 2008 by a final score of 28-21. Alex McGrew led the Duhawk offense with 39 rushes for 120 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, Loras forced three fumbles and recovered one. The lone recovery led to a Duhawk field goal, which put them in position to take the lead for good with a touchdown as the clock expired.

LAST MEETING VERSUS COE •••
Loras got out to a quick start against the Kohawks in Cedar Rapids last season, leading 10-0 following the first quarter. Senior Nate Even and Bob Kelly got this started with an early 10-yard strike following a Kohawk turnover on the opening kick-off. The Duhawks were unable to get anything going outside of the first quarter however, allowing 36 unanswered points to Coe. Overall, Loras was led offensively by Nate Even who hauled in five receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. In the end, the Duhawks were done in by drive-killing turnovers on two occasions.

SCOUTING THE KOHAWKS •••
Coe enters the weekend following a 34-31 defeat at the hands of UW-Stevens Point. Previously, the Kohawks were defeated in week one by then-No. 7 Wheaton College, 52-14. Coe bolsters a solid scoring offense despite ranking fifth in the Iowa Conference. At 31.8 points per game the Kohawks will look to take advantage of Loras' last-ranked defense in the conference. Coe hasn't been much better defensively however, allowing 29.7 points per game. The Kohawks will have to step things up a notch if they want to stop the Duhawks top-ranked offense. At 524 yards per game, Coe rivals the Duhawks for the top offense in the conference. With an average of 6.5 yards per play, Coe ranks higher than the Duhawks. Coe will look back to week one during their preparation for Loras as Wheaton featured a comparable passing attack to the Duhawks in that they attempted 35 passes for 350 yards and four touchdowns.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR AGAINST THE KOHAWKS •••
Two weeks ago the Duhawks threw the ball 64 times compared to their 34 rushing attempts, showing that Loras is still very committed to the run game despite less than ideal results against Augustana. The Duhawks' rushing attack has previously helped the passing game effectiveness through the ability to threaten the defense with play-action. If Loras wants to take advantage of this, they must get junior Zach Minch involved with the offense in the early stages. Minch totaled just 18 yards of rushing against the Vikings and while it didn't impact the final result, Loras may not be so lucky against Coe.

In their last outing, Coe allowed 248 yards on the ground and two touchdowns as opposed to just 159 passing yards. Loras will need to be creative with their play-calling on offense to keep the Kohawks off balance and unable to key in on Minch, Even, or a number of other offensive threats that Loras has developed through the first three weeks.

SCHULTE NAMED TO D3FOOTBALL.COM TEAM OF THE WEEK•••
Senior Nik Schulte was named to the D3Football.com Team of the Week for his performance against Augustana University. Schulte made the most of his first career start by breaking four school records. The senior completed 47-of-64 attempts for 588 yards and six touchdowns en route to a 56-52 victory. For his efforts, Schulte was also named the Iowa Conference Male Athlete of the Week and a Champps Americana Champpion of the Week. In week four Schulte will look to exploit a Coe defense who has allowed just 297 yards passing over the course of their last two games. Coe ranks fifth in the Iowa Conference in pass defense, but it's been largely inflated by their performance against No. 7 Wheaton College (Ill.).

DUHAWKS SUCCEEDING IN SECOND HALF •••
During the second half the last two weeks, the Duhawk offense has shined the brightest. Scoring 21 points against UW-Stout and 29 against Augustana, they've outscored their opponents 50-27 in the second half at the Rock Bowl. Leading the offensive charge have been Nik Schulte, Nate Even and Zach Minch. Loras' defense has also succeeded in the second half, allowing just three points to Augustana in the second half.