EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Sept. 3, 2022) – The Loras College football team (0-1) found a second-half surge to challenge the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1-0) in the 2022 season opener on Saturday but a touchdown for the Blugolds in the final minute of the game gave the hosts the edge to come away with a win as the Duhawks fell 30-27 at Carson Park.

The Blugolds were forced to punt on the first possession but came back to score a 33-yard field goal off the foot of Dan Zeuli and tacked on a touchdown on the opening play of the drive as quarterback Harry Robidoux found Nicholas Kudick deep downfield for a 45-yard touchdown, taking a 9-0 lead with 5:07 on the clock.

The Duhawks battled back from two short possessions to find a rhythm late in the first quarter as Evan England connected with Michael Crawford for Loras' first first down of the game with under four minutes to play in the first quarter and found him again on the next play for a 38-yard completion to put the Duhawks in Blugold territory. The momentum kept rolling as England found an open Da'Mani Brown in the center of the endzone for a 23-yard touchdown, the first for England in his collegiate career. Scott Talmadge drilled the extra point and brought the Duhawks within two points of Eau Claire with 2:35 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Duhawks' defense forced the Blugolds to punt from their endzone but a muffed punt recovered by the home team gave Eau Claire another shot on offense at midfield. Eau Claire kept the drive alive to start the second quarter and went for a long pass on 3rd & 11 but great coverage by Mason Morris forced an incomplete pass and Eau Claire to punt the ball away. Both teams' defenses were not going to budge and forced a punt for the Duhawks and Eau Claire went for a 20-yard touchdown pass on the following drive but Zacchaeus Knighton batted it down in the endzone. The Blugolds quickly recovered and Robidoux took it himself on a quarterback draw to the endzone on the next play to put the hosts ahead 16-7 with 10:57 left to play in the half.

Forced to punt with ten minutes left in the half, Driscoll drilled a 48-yard punt deep into Blugold territory and the Duhawks' defense swarmed return man Will Adair at Eau Claire's 25-yard line to keep the Blugolds from getting much rolling to start the drive. Just as Eau Claire was within striking distance of making something happen on another 3rd & 1, Emmet Finn came barreling through the Blugolds' offensive line for a four-yard tackle for loss, forcing Eau Claire to punt.

Loras had two quick first down plays with a 12-yard completion from England to Brown and a combination of completions to Jamel Britt and Johnnie Cason II, but a high snap went over the head of England, sending the Duhawks back to their 16-yard line. Neither team was able to get much churning on offense as both defenses held steadfast heading into halftime with Eau Claire leading 16-7.

The Duhawks stopped the Blugolds on 3rd & 8 on Eau Claire's opening drive as Sean Doyle broke through the offensive line to sack Robidoux and force a punt. The Duhawks mishandled the punt but Jace Gwynn recovered it and Ty Bausch broke through for the breakthrough momentum the Duhawks needed, taking off on a 60-yard run to the endzone on Loras' opening play of the drive, cutting Eau Claire's lead 16-14 with 11:05 left in the third quarter. The Duhawks continued to pressure on defense with Joey Foley and Brett Bower coming up with a big stop on Eau Claire's 3rd & 10, stopping Isaac Garside shy of the first down and forcing another punt for the Blugolds. Driscoll made sure to set up the Blugolds in a predicament on their next drive, drilling a 49-yard punt to pin Eau Claire at their own one-yard line with 7:15 remaining in the quarter. The great punt kept the Blugolds in check with a three-and-out and helped get the Duhawks another shot on offense. England capitalized with a 17-yard pass to Marty McGovern to give Loras a first down at the Blugolds' eight-yard line and the play set up a six-yard pass to Brown for his second grab of the game, putting the Duhawks ahead 20-16 with 5:29 left in the third quarter.

The Duhawks looked to finish the drive to start the fourth quarter but sent a field goal attempt wide before regaining momentum on the next drive to extend the lead, 27-26. England started the drive with a 16-yard completion to McGovern and Bausch tacked on more yards with an 11-yard carry the next play. Bausch broke free two plays later for a 24-yard run and kept charging down field with another six-yard rush to get the Duhawks in the redzone and scampered in a one-yard run to score with 10:51 left in the game. The Blugolds responded on the next drive with a touchdown but missed the extra point, making it a five-point game with under eight minutes to play.

The Duhawks got the ball back off an interception by Gwynn with two minutes remaining, grabbing the ball out of the air at Loras' three-yard line for a critical stop to the Blugolds' drive. Eau Claire came charging back, though, and strung together a diligent drive to the endzone with a 24-yard pass from Robidoux to Kudick and went for two, taking a 30-27 lead with less than 30 seconds remaining. Time was not on Loras' side as the game came to a close and the Blugolds eked out the victory in a tightly-contested second-half battle.

In his first collegiate start, England went 25-35 and tallied 258 passing yards, throwing two touchdowns. Bausch ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns while Brown grabbed two touchdowns and posted 78 receiving yards on eight targets. On defense, Gwynn, Foley and Brandon Phelps each had seven tackles while Phelps led the team with five tackles for a loss of 20 yards. Driscoll accumulated 342 punting yards on nine punts with one inside the 20 yard line and Carter Cahill had 52 kickoff returns yards.

The Duhawks saw better production in the run game in the second half, finishing the game with 95 rushing yards after only having two yards at the half. Loras also had 258 passing yards and 353 total yards of offense compared to Eau Claire's 258. Both teams played an evenly-matched game but the Blugolds held the edge with time of possession (34:08), ultimately proving crucial in the outcome.

The Duhawks will take on Benedictine University on Saturday, Sept. 10 on the road in Lisle, Ill. for the Week 2 matchup. Kickoff is set for 6 P.M. and fans are encouraged to register for the Duhawk tailgate and Loras' coaches Meet and Greet starting at 4 P.M. More information can be found HERE.