Duhawks defense stands strong, Luther prevails
Jon Denham, Sports Information Director

Loras    6
Luther   16

The Loras College football team suffered their third straight loss on Saturday in Decorah, Iowa 16-6 at the hands (and feet) of the Norse. An increasingly successful Duhawks' defense didn't give up a touchdown, but yielded three field goals in the loss. Luther also returned an interception for their fourth score of the afternoon before Loras found the end zone in the fourth quarter to cut into the lead.

Loras turned the ball over three times in the air in a variety of ways in the loss, all in the second half, ultimately losing the turnover battle (-3). Twice the defense held the Norse scoreless, allowing only seven points off the three turnovers. The defense didn't have a chance to halt the Luther offense on the third interception, as it was taken 33 yards for the score. Zach Wilker was the man of the day on defense. The senior from Elkader made eight solo tackles (12 total on the afternoon), four and a half of those tackles were for a loss, and Wilker added a half a sack to complete his stat line. Luther tailback and IIAC leading rusher Tyler Sherden was held to 54 yards on the ground (2.3 yards per carry).

The offense was led on the ground  by Alex McGrew, who totaled 98 yards on the ground on 25 carries and added another 99 yards in the return game. Alex surpassed the 500 yard plateau on Saturday as well. Matt McLaughlin was sacked three times to go along with his three INT's. He completed 13 passes for 119 yards.

The magic number this week was three, after last weeks game centered around the number two. Three Duhawk interceptions and three Norse field goals proved to be the difference in the game.

In what was truly a defensive struggle, the teams combined for under 400 yards of total offense and fourteen times the teams sent a punter back to kick the ball away. In the end, six points weren't enough to win the game.

The Duhawks return home on October 13th for homecoming. Kickoff is 1:00 PM against Wartburg.