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

Mar. 27, 2021 – Under the lights for the first game back in more than 500 days, the Loras College football team (1-0) made the wait worth it for the home crowd on Saturday as the Duhawks scored the first win of the 2020 spring football season against non-conference opponent the University of Northwestern St. Paul (0-1) inside the Rock Bowl.

It took both teams a bit to break the other's defense but the Eagles struck first, scoring first with 2:59 to play in the first quarter but Zacchaeus Knighton got his hands on the extra point, keeping Northwestern at six. A 30-yard kick-off return for Elijah Thomas helped set up the Duhawks at midfield and senior quarterback Noah Sigwarth found Ty Bausch and Kabryn Cook for two long passes to get the Duhawks at first and ten at the 20 yard line. Hunter Matye shook his defender and got open in the end zone for Sigwarth, scoring Loras' first touchdown of the season and Nicolas Farfan drilled the extra point. Freshman Zak Talbot drilled a 60-yard kick-off and the Eagles fumbled on the return but Dawson Charley was there to recover the ball and set up the Duhawks for another drive. Sigwarth capitalized on the possession and found Cook downfield for a 65-yard yard pass into the endzone, closing out the first quarter ahead 14-6.

The Duhawks stumbled at the start of the second quarter as the Eagles' defense came away with an interception on Loras' opening drive, but the Duhawks rallied back to score on a quarterback keep by Sigwarth at the 9:02 mark for an eight-yard carry and Farfan made the extra point. The Duhawks extended the lead to 28-6 after a 20-yard rush by Thomas, a 21-yard rush for Bausch and a 24-yard completion from Sigawarth to Marty McGovern set up the Duhawks at 2nd and goal at the one yard line, giving Sigwarth the opening to take it himself into the end zone. The Duhawks got two more points added on to the score after a failed punt resulted in a safety and Loras went ahead 30-6 with 2:40 left in the first half. A breakaway 29-yard rush by Sigwarth at third and four on the next drive put the Duhawks in the red zone and Sigwarth handed the ball off to Eric Hradek who maneuvered his way into the endzone for a one-yard touchdown, giving Loras a commanding 37-6 lead heading into the locker room.

Loras got things going on offense to start the third quarter after Sigwarth connected with Mike McDevitt for a 41-yard completion and McDevitt took it all the way for the touchdown. The Duhawks' defense forced Northwestern to punt and the Duhawks made their way downfield on the next drive to set up freshman Je'von William inside the red zone for a three-yard carry, resulting in his first career touchdown and the Duhawks leading, 51-5. Neither team added to the score to close out the third quarter but Hradek wasted no time finding the end zone with a six-yard carry for the touchdown. The extra point by Talbot was good and Loras went up 58-6 with plenty of game left to play and Talbot made it three more with a field goal with five minutes remaining. The Eagles scored a late-game touchdown off a 99-yard run with four minutes remaining, but the Duhawks had the game sealed and ended the 500-day football layoff with a home-field win.

Sigwarth was 15-32-2 in the win with 284 passing yards for three touchdowns and had a team-high 77 rushing yards for one touchdown. Loras saw 13 different receivers get targets on the night as Cook led the receivers with 111 yards followed by McGovern with 62. Thomas compiled 92 rushing yards and Bausch had 146 all-purpose yards while Talbot averaged 55 yards on kick offs and was 1-1 for field goals. Loras' 61 points was a series high, beating the previous 54 point mark against the Eagles. Defensively, Josh Jones had six tackles and Josh Kieffer had five. Elijah Dertz added one tackle for a seven yard loss while Jack Foley came up with three pass break ups and Jace Gwynn came away with an interception. 

The Duhawks look to extend the win-streak to two games, traveling to Decorah, Iowa on Saturday, Apr. 3 to play Luther College. Kick-off is set for 1 P.M.