DECORAH, Iowa  – It was the makings of a picture perfect moment in Decorah, Iowa. Coming off its first win in nearly three years, the Luther College football team was hoping to start a win streak, as the Norse hosted heavily favored Coe College in its Homecoming game. Things looked good for Luther early on, as the Norse led the Kohawks through the majority of the first quarter. In the end, though, Coe proved to be just too much, as Luther fell on Homecoming by a final score of 56-10. With the loss, the Norse are now 1-5 overall and 1-3 in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play. 

BY THE NUMBERS
Luther was rolling to open Saturday's afternoon contest, as the Norse caught their visitors sleeping multiple times in the first quarter. After a fumble on the opening drive, Luther recovered with an interception one play later, as Coe quarterback Carter Maske forgot Michael Nunez (San Jose, Calif. / Oak Grove) was not an eligible receiver for the Kohawks, throwing a pass right to his hands for Nunez' first interception of the season. The Norse, though, were still not able to capitalize on the turnover, but a fumbled punt return by Coe resulted in possession for Luther at the Kohawk 30 yard line. 

Forty-five seconds later, the Norse scored the first touchdown of the game on a trick play featuring Beau Cornwell (Iowa City, Iowa / West Branch) and Andre Atkins (East Palo Alto, Calif. / Junipero Serra). The duo threw for their third lateral touchdown of the season, as Cornwell found Atkins, who then connected with Blake Storby (Lake Mills, Iowa / Lake Mills Community) in the end zone, giving Luther a 6-0 lead. Joseph Mehlhorn (Farmington, Minn. / Farmington) converted the point after attempt, giving the Norse the first lead of the afternoon at 7-0. 

The Kohawks tied the game on their very next offensive possession, as they converted on fourth and six and third and seven to even the score at 7-7. Luther would take the next lead, though, as Cornwell led yet another offensive drive to put the Norse within striking distance of the end zone. When Vershon Brooks (Brighton, Colo. / Brighton) was stopped short of a first down on third and five at the Coe five, head coach Joe Troche sent out the kicking unit, looking for Luther's first field goal of the season. Mehlhorn again converted, giving the Norse a 10-7 advantage with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

That, sadly, was the last time Luther would score Saturday afternoon, as the Kohawk defense held the Norse to just 10 total first downs, over half of which were recorded in the first quarter of the game. Additionally, Luther managed just 46 net rushing yards compared to Coe's 267, as most of the Norse offense came in the air Saturday afternoon. The Kohawks also converted 17-20 third down chances, resulting in a 56-10 win for Coe. 

TOP NORSE

• Beau Cornwell (Iowa City, Iowa / West Branch) threw for 141 yards Saturday afternoon completing 10-22 pases with one touchdown and two interceptions. 
• Andre Atkins (East Palo Alto, Calif. / Junipero Serra), Diego Lopez (Hazel Green, Wis. / Van Buren Community) and Tommy Kaktis (Northwood, Iowa / Lake Mills Community) combined for 120 of the Norse 141 receiving yards Saturday afternoon. Atkins lead with 50 yards, while Lopez tallied 40 and Kaktis 30. 
• Brayden Daly (Gilbert, Ariz./ Mesquite)  led the team with 10 tackles Saturday afternoon, while Michael Nunez (San Jose, Calif. / Oak Grove) recorded his first interception of 2022. 

UP NEXT
The Norse will enjoy a bye week before hitting the road for their next game of the 2022 season. Luther will face the University of Dubuque at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 22 in Dubuque, Iowa.