ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (Duhawks.com) - Turnovers led to the demise of the Duhawks Saturday evening as they took on the Augustana Vikings. Loras turned the ball over on eight different occasions, including six interceptions and two fumbles. Despite the struggle to keep possession of the ball, they remained competitive throughout the game thanks to a strong showing by the defense before falling 34-17.

"Our defense is a strong suit for us right now. We completely shut down their run game," head coach Steve Helminiak said.

Loras had the advantage in total offense gaining 463 yards to Augustana's 282. They also recorded more first downs and converted a higher percentage of third and fourth downs compared to the Vikings.

The Duhawks seemed to control the game in the first quarter only allowing the Vikings one first down. However, it was a series of missed opportunities on Loras' part that opened the door for Augustana. The Vikings were able to capitalize on those mistakes, creating separation on the scoreboard.

A pair of fumbles in the opening quarter gave the Vikings the ball with excellent field position. The first came on a botched exchange between senior quarterback Dylan Jones and sophomore receiver Danny Willis. Fortunately for the Duhawks, sophomore Wes Bowers intercepted Sam Frasco in the red zone to prevent an Augustana score.
The second fumble came when Jones was stripped in the pocket on a pass attempt. The Vikings were able to punch it in the endzone in this instance when Sam Frasco was able to connect with Antonio Owens on an 18 yard touchdown pass. After senior Will Tumberger blocked the ensuing extra point attempt, the Duhawks found themselves trailing, 6-0.

In the second quarter, Loras broke the scoring drought as freshman Mason Quigley converted a field goal from 38 yards out. The Duhawks forced a Vikings three and out on the ensuing drive, giving the Loras offense an opportunity to take the lead. An impressive drive down field led by Jones set Quigley up for game-tying field goal. From 42 yards out, Quigley booted the ball but missed wide left.

The defense continued to silence the Viking offense as freshman Keshaun Smith intercepted Frasco on an acrobatic catch. Driving down the field the offense worked its way into the end zone before Jones' potential touchdown pass was picked off.

Once again, the Duhawk defense answered the call, this time forcing an Augustana punt. However, a fair catch was fumbled and the bouncing ball nicked a Loras player allowing the Vikings to pounce on it. The Vikings took over at midfield and scored on a 28 yard pass from Frasco to Frake with under a minute remaining in the half, taking a 13-3 lead into the locker room.

Loras came right back to start the second half, driving 70 yards in eight plays and capping it off with a great one-handed touchdown completion from Jones to sophomore Josh Schulte from 13 yards out for his first career touchdown.

"It was exciting to be able to contribute that for the team and then being able to celebrate it with them," said Schulte who hauled in eight receptions for 91 yards highlighted by his first career touchdown.

Following the touchdown, the field goal unit saw something in the defense and attempted a two-point conversion. The Duhawks snapped it directly to junior Dan Vatch who ran it right up the middle before being held up short of the goal line by a pair of Viking defenders, keeping the score at 13-9 in favor of Augustana.

The Vikings answered connecting on long touchdown passes on their next two drives, pushing their lead to double digits.

"We wanted to stop the triple option, and we thought we did a good job at that. They just managed to beat us otherwise. We just need to clean some stuff up going forward," said junior linebacker Logan Kuehl who recorded seven tackles on the night.

The Duhawks closed out the third quarter completing another 70 yard touchdown drive in which senior Nate Even hauled in a 7 yard reception for the score. In a trick play going for the two-point conversion, Even threw a pass to Jones in the endzone.

Loras forced an Augustana punt on the following possession and trailing by 10 points with 12:00 remaining in the game took over possession at their own 25. The offense moved the ball to midfield, where they faced fourth and two. Electing to go for it, Jones' pass fell incomplete. With Jones taking a big hit on the play, a roughing the passer penalty was called allowing the Duhawks to retain possession and move into Augustana territory. Another Duhawk turnover, ended Loras' drive prematurely.

Stalling the Augustana offense, the defense forced another punt. Leading the Duhawks down field, Jones took a hard hit in the pocket. As Jones was helped off the field, freshman Robert Kelly took the reins. Making his Duhawk debut, Kelly's pass sailed out of reach of his receiver and into the hands of a Viking's defender.

Augustana capitalized on the turnover moving the ball into Loras territory and punching it in for a score on a quarterback keeper.

With his team trailing 34-17, Kelly attempted to lead a drive down field but failed to connect with receivers. Back-to-back drives ended in interceptions for the Duhawks, as Loras fell 34-17.

"We knew going into this it was going to be a process," Helminiak said. "As bad as we feel after this game, there is a lot of positives that we can build off of."

Loras will be back in action following a bye week on October 4^th as they head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to take on Coe College in their Iowa Conference opener. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.