DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The return to the Rock Bowl for the Loras football team brought with it a record-breaking day for Elijah Thomas, who set program marks in kick return yardage, finishing with 253 yards. A first quarter lead by the Duhawks was erased by Wartburg, who took control midway through the second quarter on its way to a 56-14 victory.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
• The Duhawks opened the scoring on Saturday as Noah Sigwarth found Mike McDevitt in the end zone, capping a 13-play, 89 yard drive that used 6:33 of game clock
• Wartburg responded with a passing touchdown of their own to even the scoring 
• After scoring their 4th first half touchdown, Elijah Thomas returned the Wartburg kickoff 45 yards to break the Loras Return record previously set at 153 yards by 16 yards
• Following the 1st half break, Wartburg returned the opening half kickoff 91 yards for Wartburg's 5th touchdown of the afternoon
• After shutting down the majority of Duhawk drives, Wartburg tallied off four touchdowns to push their lead to 49 halfway through the fourth quarter
• Late in the fourth quarter, Michael Stebbins found Thomas for a 23-yard touchdown pass

NOTABLES
• Thomas totaled 253 return yards, third most in the NCAA this season (all divisions) … Broke two school records for his efforts including the single game return record and the season return record (810 yards) … Elijah needs 472 return yards to break the career return record
• Chris Miller passed his previous tackle mark from last year, he currently has 70 tackles beating his previous last year's total of 64.
• Wartburg finished the afternoon with an 86.4 completion percentage on 19-22 passing

UP NEXT
The Duhawks travel to Cedar Rapids next Saturday to face Coe. The Kohawks currently sit at 4-4 following a 23-20 overtime win at Central on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.