DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - All Loras needed was a few more yards to take the lead one final time on Saturday and win the Key City Clash, but a strip sack by Dubuque and the ensuing return for a touchdown gave the Spartans a late lead that they'd hold onto, 49-42.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
• With the first half winding down to a close, Loras missed wide left on a field goal attempt, leaving 1:27 left on the clock ... Dubuque moved down the field and with 10 seconds to go, connected a long pass down to the Loras 17-yard line ... The Spartans managed to call a timeout with one second remaining and on the next play, scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 17-yard pass
• When the teams returned after the halftime break, so did a wealth of offense ... Six of the next seven drives resulted in paydirt, with the lone drive that did not being a 90-yard interception return by Brandon Niemeier
• Noah Sigwarth's pass to Sam Maloney went for 65 yards and a touchdown with 6:37 to go in the third quarter ... What followed was a 12-play, 68-yard drive by Dubuque that went all the way to the Loras 5-yard line before Walker Even and Riley Larson combined for the tackle for loss ... Unfortunately for Loras, the ensuing drive lasted 1:04 for three plays and six yards
• Another failed fourth down conversion by the Spartans came with 5:26 to play in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 42 ... After a six-yard rush by Jerry McDaniel gave the Duhawks a fresh set of downs from the Dubuque 35, Sigwarth was sacked and coughed up the football before he could get the pass off ... The Spartans picked up the loose ball and ran it 50 yards to the end zone for the score
• On 3rd-and-1 with time dwindling away, Sigwarth's pass to Boelkow went for 21 yards, but Loras was unable to call a timeout before the game clock expired

NOTABLES
• Boelkow tied his career-best with 10 receptions on Saturday, finishing with 124 yards and two touchdown receptions ... His 124 receiving yards marked his seventh career 100-yard receiving game
• Maloney set career-highs for points scored (12), receiving touchdowns (2), receiving yards (113) and touchdown receptions in a game (2)
• Chris Miller's 2.5 tackles for loss set a new career-best for the linebacker
• Niemeier's interception return for a touchdown was the first in his career
• Sigwarth set a new career mark with four touchdown passes and a career-high with 356 yards of total offense
• Loras falls to 24-15 against Dubuque all-time

UP NEXT
Loras travels to Buena Vista next Saturday for its third game of the conference schedule. The Beavers are 1-4 following a 62-20 loss to Central on Saturday. Kickoff from Storm Lake is scheduled for 1 p.m.