IIAC opener a win, 30-20 over Cornell
Jon Denham, Sports Information Director
September 15, 2007

Loras 30
Cornell 20

The Loras College football team continued their winning ways on Saturday in Mount Vernon, Iowa with strong 30-20 over the Cornell College. Alex McGrew stole the show offensively, rushing the ball a total of 30 times, covering 184 yards, and reaching paydirt twice. McGrew's first score was the opening one of the game, coming on the Duhawks third possession of the first quarter. The nineteen yard scamper included a couple of broken tackles and a final burst to the goal line. The drive covered 84 yards and included runs of 12, 12, 6, 6, 3, and 10 yards by the junior from Van Horne, Iowa.

The Rams would answer with two toucdowns of their own in the second quarter before Taylor Buhmeyer connected on a 22 yard field in the final seconds of the first half. Rams quarter back Anthony Kobler, the reigning IIAC Athlete of the Week led 75 and 77 yard drives to get his team in the end zone. The Duhawks headed to the locker trailing 14-9 (Buhmeyer's extra point attempt was blocked) and looking to build on their rushing and return success of the first half. McGrew was over the 100 yard mark by the intermission, totaling 121 in the first thirty minutes.

At the break, the Duhawks trailed by five points on the scoreboard and by one in the turnover department. That turnover margin was quickly back to even, however, after the opening drive of the second half by the Rams ended abruptly. Reed Peterson intercepted a Kobler pass to end the smooth moving "Wing-T" offense of Cornell on the Loras five yard line. Twenty-seven yards later the Duhawks were starting their opening drive of the half and had the lead in their sights.

Matt McLaughlin completed passes to Mike Hachey, Jon Gill, and Chris Swift during the march into Rams territory. Alex McGrew was the go-to guy in the red zone, giving Loras the lead with a two yard run to cap the 68 yard drive. The two point conversion failed, but the Duhawks were back in the lead just over halfway through the third quarter.

Cornell tailback Travion Hardman took over on the next possession, spitting out runs of 21 and 15 yards from the criss-crossing Rams offense. Cornell re-claimed the lead 20-15 when fullback Mike Thompson found the end zone.

That would end the scoring on the day for the Rams, as the Duhawks defense stepped up with drive stalling tackles and two more turnovers.

A Loras College 4th and 1 didn't achieve what the Duhawks had hoped deep in Cornell territory, but the momentum would quickly come back to the Duhawks. On the first play of the fourth quarter Anthony Kobler, who twice left the game for short stints with nagging injuries, threw a pass that linebacker and defensive captain Brock Hall read and intercepted. Hall had "six" on his mind as he brought the ball in to his body. The offensive play called for a sellout to Brock's left and his interception return was quickly transitioned to his right, sprinting to the far pylon untouched. The score gave Loras the lead for good. The 21-20 lead was extended when Matt McLaughlin coverted a shot put-like pass to fullback Tim Andrews for the additional two points.

Cornell's first possession of the fourth quarter was a short one, lasting just five plays before being forced to punt. Alex McGrew's return gave the offense good field position (23 of his 151 total return yards in this case) and Loras moved the ball down the field looking to make it a two possession game. That's exactly what happened when McLaughlin found tight end Mitch Einck from six yards out to give Loras a 30-20 lead.

Cornell was forced to abandon the "Wing-T" in order to make up the ten points, but Loras' defense again answered their call to duty. Tommy Jahnke put an end to another Cornell drive when he picked off Kobler deep in Loras territory with under five minutes remaining. Before long, the Rams were unable to complete their fourth down conversion and the Duhawks were in line for their second win of 2007.

The Duhawks left Ash Park with their first IIAC win of 2007. McGrew totaled 335 all-purpose yards on the afternoon and Peterson, Hall, and Jahnke hauled in interceptions to lead the defense. Hall led the team in tackles with 14, followed closely by Tyler Carroll and Danny Vesley who each had 11. McLaughlin threw for 135 yards on the day. Unfortunately for Loras, it wasn't all smiles as they loaded up for the trip back to Dubuque. Center Jon Pereiro was forced out of the game with a knee injury just before halftime and didn't return to the game. His status for next week's game has not yet been determined.

The Duhawks will return to the Rock Bowl next week for their second Iowa Conference matchup of 2007. They will host Central College in a 1:00 kickoff. Loras will be inducting their four newest members into the Hall of Fame on the 22nd of September.