SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The third trip to the state of Minnesota wasn't as nice to the Kohawks as the first two were, as they fell 34-7 to 10th-ranked St. Thomas in the second round of the NCAA Football Playoffs. A string of injuries over the past week and a powerful rushing attack by the Tommies ended Coe's season with a 10-2 record, just the third team in school history to win 10 games.

Both teams punted on their opening possessions, but it was the second possession for St. Thomas that set the tone. The Tommies took the ball 84-yards on 16 plays, scoring on a second and goal pass from the 20-yard line. St. Thomas completed a third down early in the drive and also threw a nine-yard pass to Logan Marks on fourth and one from the Coe 44-yard line.

On the final possession of the first quarter, the Kohawks had moved into Tommie territory before a bad snap resulted in a 27-yard loss for the Kohawks. Coe was only able to get 10 yards back and was forced to punt once again.

St. Thomas took the ensuing drive from their own 33-yard line. The Tommies drove all the way to the Kohawk six-yard line, where the Coe defense came up with a big stop, forcing Brady Beeson to kick a 25-yard field goal with 9:30 to play in the opening half.

Coe would make it a game again on the following drive. Starting at the Coe 26-yard line, junior Michael Rozum (Byron, Ill./Byron) rushed 10-yards on the first play. Back-to-back passes from freshman Jared McNutt (Warren, Ill./Warren), whom was making his first collegiate start, to fellow freshman Jared Kuehner (Center Point, Iowa/Center Point-Urbana) for 37-yards moved Coe to the Tommie 27-yard line. On second and third downs, McNutt found junior Tyler Takes (Ely, Iowa/Solon) for gains of 12 and 10 yards, putting the Kohawks inside the 10-yard line.

Freshman Brendan Leiran (Waukon, Iowa/Waukon) rushed to the five-yard line on the following play. On second down, the Tommies were called for pass interference, moving the ball to the two-yard line. Finishing the drive just like he started, Rozum plowed in from two-yards out for the Kohawks first points of the game with 5:06 to play in the first half.

The Tommies wasted no time countering the Kohawks' first points with another touchdown of their own. In 3:15, St. Thomas went 63-yards on seven plays, including four plays of 10 yards or more, to move ahead of Coe 17-7 with 1:46 to play in the opening half.

In the final two minutes, Leiran ran twice to move the Kohawks to their own 32-yard line. Trying to move into Tommie territory, McNutt found Takes for a 27-yard gain at the Tommie 41-yard line. On the ensuing play, McNutt was intercepted by Willy Baregi at the Tommie 34-yard line. On the very next play, Ben Wartman rushed 46-yards for a touchdown, giving the Tommies a 24-7 lead heading into halftime.

To open the second half, the Tommie defense forced the Kohawks into a three and out, taking over at their own 36-yard line. Once again, St. Thomas drove inside the Kohawk 10-yard line, but Coe's defense held. With 11:03 to play in the third quarter, Beeson hit a 24-yard field goal to put the Tommies ahead 27-7.

Neither team could sustain a drive until late in the quarter. The Kohawks took over from their own 20-yard line with 2:12 to play in the quarter. After a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the Tommies, McNutt found Leiran and senior Robert Welborn (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) for gains of 17 and 15 yards that moved Coe to the Tommie 25-yard line. On the next play, McNutt was intercepted by Brady Ervin at the 12-yard line, killing another Kohawk drive inside the red zone.

Coe would end up holding the Tommies on the ensuing drive, stopping them on fourth and one from the Kohawk 49-yard line. McNutt again led a Kohawk drive inside the Tommie 25, but was intercepted for the second time by Ervin, this one coming in the corner of the end zone.

The Tommies then ate up over 5:30 of the clock on 10 plays before Greg Morse found Fritz Waldvogel for a 44-yard touchdown pass, putting the Tommies ahead 34-7 with just over 3:20 to play in the game. Coe wasn't able to get anything going offensively on its last possession, as they turned the ball over on downs with 1:05 to play.

St. Thomas used the run game to its advantage, as they racked up 303 yards on the ground. Along with pounding out the yards offensively, they held the Kohawk rushing game to just two yards, the fewest total all season. The Tommies held a 35:48-24:12 advantage in time of possession, allowing Coe to have the ball for just 4:33 in the fourth quarter.

McNutt was 19-for-31 for 219 yards and three interceptions. Kuehner and Rozum each caught five passes, with Kuehner going for 61 and Rozum tallying 33 yards. Takes caught four passes for 57 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior linebackers Calvin Thomas (Westchester, Ill./St. Joseph's) and Tate Harrison (Nevada, Iowa/Nevada) led the way with 14 and 12 tackles respectively. Harrison finished the season with 122 total tackles, breaking the school record that he held from last season with Thomas. He also had 71 solo tackles on the season, breaking his old record from last year, while finishing his career with 200 solo tackles. He became the first player in school history to tally 200 solo tackles in a career.

The Kohawks close the season with a 10-2 record overall and 7-1 in the Iowa Conference. Picked to finish seventh in the preseason, the Kohawks finished second and were the last Iowa Conference school remaining in the NCAA Playoffs.