Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

PELLA, Iowa (Oct. 23, 2021) – The Loras College football team (3-5, 3-3 A-R-C) faced its toughest competitor this season on Saturday, traveling to Pella, Iowa to play No. 10-ranked Central College (7-0, 5-0 A-R-C). A burst on offense for the Duhawks held the Dutch to a scoreless fourth-quarter but the comeback bid came up short as Central kept its undefeated record with a 53-19 win.

Loras' first drive of the game saw Noah Sigwarth connect with Marty McGovern for the first down and rush for another nine to set up Ty Bausch to secure another first down on a two-yard run to the Dutch's 38-yard line. The Duhawks were forced to punt and the Dutch took advantage of the next possession, scoring a touchdown off a pass from Blaine Hawkins to Erik Knaack with 8:28 left in the quarter. Central tacked on another touchdown with 2:59 on the clock in the first quarter off a pass from Hawkins to Ryan Neu for 37 yards but a 10-yard run by Eric Hradek and a 13-yard completion from Sigwarth to Je'Von Williams helped get the Duhawks downfield within field goal range for freshman kicker, Scott Talmadge. Talmadge, who has been consistent in field goals all season, drilled a 44-yard kick to put Loras on the board with 1:26 left in the first quarter.

Central kept their offense rolling in the second quarter as Hawkins and the offense tacked on four more touchdowns before the half but an illegal block in the back brought back what could have been another touchdown for the Dutch and forced the hosts to settle for a 23-yard field goal with one second on the clock, carrying a 44-3 lead in to the locker room. The Dutch came out of the break and added another touchdown to the board but missed the extra point, extending the lead to 50-3 in the third and had to settle for another field goal with 1:28 remaining.

The Duhawks kept Central off the board for the final 15 minutes of play and capitalized with a 25-yard field goal by Talmadge after Devon Moore found McGovern downfield for a 23-yard completion. On Loras' next drive, Moore aired one out to Mani Brown for a 27-yard completion, setting up 1st and goal and Hradek broke through the Dutch's defense to give Loras its first touchdown of the afternoon. The Duhawks strung together three consecutive first downs to get the ball on Central's 3-yard line and Williams took it to the endzone with 3:17 left to play, but Central had the edge as time expired, coming away with the 53-19 win.

Hradek led the offense with 59 rushing yards and the touchdown while Williams' touchdown was his lone carry of the day. He, McGovern and Williams all had 46 yards receiving with Brown posting a 27-yard grab. On defense, Mason Morris (12), Joey Foley (11) and Brett Bower (10) posted double-figure tackles while Sam Jones had a team-high two tackles for loss. On special teams, Talmadge was 2-2 in field goals while Jake Rockweiler had 90 kick return yards. Though Central has the edge in passing yards with 507, the Duhawks kept the possession game close with 29:23 to the Dutch's 30:37.

The Duhawks return to the Rock Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 6 to host Luther College for Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 1 P.M. with Senior recognition during pregame.