5 Iowa college football storylines: Coe faces Bethel in playoffs for 2nd straight year

The postseason has started. Coe advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time since 2016. Wartburg opened with a bye and begins at home. Drake takes on No. 11 South Dakota in the Football Championship Series. NAIA Playoffs are underway. Here are five small college football storylines.

COE GETS REMATCH WITH BETHEL

For the second straight year, Coe’s playoff path leads to Bethel (Minn.) University. Last year, Bethel ended Coe’s season with a 31-26 victory in the first round. The Kohawks return to Arden Hills, Minn., Saturday, kicking off at noon. Coe reached the second round for the second time in 10 years under Coach Tyler Staker and the first since 2016. The Kohawks advanced with a 44-7 win at Concordia University Wisconsin. Coe quarterback Brady Kelly continued his record-setting season, passing for 267 yards and two touchdowns on 22-for-25 passing. Interestingly, Kelly’s Kohawk quarterback breakout performance came at Bethel last season. He passed for 254 yards and two TDs without an interception in the playoff game, setting the foundation for his American Rivers Conference Offensive Most Valuable Player campaign this year. Can Kelly conjure up similar production? Against Concordia, the Kohawks rush attack provided balance, amassing 157 yards and three scores including 84 yards and two TDs from Tre’Sean Cunningham. Something that would benefit Coe this week. Third-ranked Bethel averages 50.9 points per game, while allowing a mere 6.5 points a contest. The Royals have tallied 5,092 yards this season, receiving 2,615 yards and 35 TDs passing from Cooper Drews. Albert Rundell has been his top target, catching 99 passes for 1,354 yards and 19 scores. Coe is making its fourth second-round appearance and looking for its first quarterfinal berth.

WARTBURG HOSTS WHEATON AFTER BYE WEEK

The fifth-ranked Knights completed a perfect regular season, winning its fourth straight A-R-C title. Wartburg posted a 10-0 mark and earned a first-round bye to the D-III playoffs. The Knights have made 18 postseason appearances and fourth in a row. Wartburg hosts Wheaton (Ill.) College Saturday at Walston-Hoover Stadium in Waverly, starting at noon. This marks the programs’ first meeting in 94 years. No. 20 Wheaton (9-2) advanced with a 76-14 win over Crown (Minn.) College. The Thunder’s only losses have been to No. 1 North Central (Ill.) and No. 2 Mount Union (Ohio). Wartburg’s defense has held opponents to 10 points per game and ranks fourth nationally, giving up an average of 43.2 yards rushing. The Knights are led by former Decorah standout Keenan Tyler. He totaled a team-high 109 tackles, including 63 solo stops. Tyler also has seven tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, five pass breakups and a forced fumble, earning A-R-C Defensive Most Valuable Player honors. Dawson Rud and Joey Anderson have split Wartburg’s backfield duties. Rud has rushed for 698 yards and seven TDs, while Anderson has 696 and eight. Knights quarterback Leo Dodd has thrown for 1,416 yards and 12 scores. Wheaton counters with QB Mark Forcucci, who averages almost 250 yards passing and has thrown for 31 TDs. Thunder receiver Seth Kortenhoeven has 828 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

DRAKE RETURNS TO SOUTH DAKOTA FOR PLAYOFF OPENER

The Bulldogs drew a rematch against No. 20 South Dakota on Saturday in Vermillion, S.D., beginning at noon. Drake lost at South Dakota in Week 3 of the regular season. The Coyotes scored 21 points in the second quarter and cruised to a 42-21 victory Sept. 20. Drake is 8-3 overall first-year head coach Joe Woodley and won its third straight Pioneer Football League title. South Dakota is the No. 11 seed in the FCS playoffs. The Coyotes are 8-4 and went 6-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. In the first meeting, South Dakota’s L.J. Phillips Jr. rushed for 143 yards and four TDs and QB Aidan Bouman passed for 226 yards and two scores. Larenzo Fenner accounted for 101 of those yards and both TDs. Drake QB Logan Inagawa amassed 237 yards, passing for 164 yards and a TD and rushing for 73 and two. Inagawa has passed for 1,244 yards and eight TDs. Bulldogs running back Nick Herman adds 960 yards and six scores on the ground. Drake, which did receive one vote in the latest American Football Coaches Association FCS poll, has lost all five meetings against South Dakota, dating back to 2009.

NAIA PLAYOFFS INCLUDES 4 IOWA PROGRAMS

Four Iowa programs reached the second round of the NAIA playoffs. Top-seeded Grand View is 10-0 and hosts Saint Francis (Ind.), which is 10-2. No. 9 Morningside, No. 10 Dordt and No. 13 William Penn hit the road Saturday. Morningside (9-2) plays No. 8 College of Idaho (9-1). Dordt travels to No. 6 Marian (Ind.), which is 10-1. William Penn is 11-1 with its lone loss to Grand View. The Statesmen face No. 4 Friends (Kan.) University (11-0).

Grand View is the defending national champion. Morningside lost to Grand View in last year’s national semifinal.

HENDERSON LEADS MINNESOTA STATE AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS

Former Linn-Mar prep Carter Henderson helped No. 21 Minnesota State-Mankato to a 37-14 victory over No. 12 Findlay in the opening round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Henderson rushed for a game-high 72 yards on 14 carries, including an 18-yard TD. The Mavericks (9-3) travel to No. 8 University of Indianapolis (11-1) for a second-round game.

Henderson is the third-leading rusher for the Mavericks with 598 yards on 111 carries. He has two touchdowns and averages 59.8 yards per game.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com