DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Duhawks overcame a 21-7 second quarter deficit en route to a thrilling 42-41 season-opening victory over the Benedictine University Eagles on Saturday night in the Rock Bowl.

Quarterback Evan England had a banner evening, racking up 313 yards of total offense (252 passing, 61 rushing), completing a career-best 84.8-percent of his passes (28-33) through the air. The junior out of Wheaton, Ill., accounted for two touchdowns to help lead the program to its first season-opening win since 2020.

Senior Michael Crawford recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game, leading all receivers with 105 yards on 10 receptions. Junior running back Jamel Britt was a force to be reckoned with on the ground, as the powerful back picked up 55 yards and scored three touchdowns, the first three of his career.

Defensively, defensive back Josh Rydberg led the Duhawks with a career-high 11 total tackles, seven of which were solo stops. The Rockton, Ill., native also broke up two passes, tying a career best. Junior defensive back Owen Kelly had one of the biggest highlights of the night, picking off an Eagle pass and returning it 70 yards for a touchdown, the first of his career.

The Duhawks (1-0) , jumped on top less than four minutes into the game. England led Loras on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in his rushing touchdown – a one-yard rush. Benedictine struck right back with a 15-play, 85-yard drive of its own that took 7:13 off the clock and cumulated in a one-yard pass between Nathan Rillo and Hundley Stallings.

On the following Duhawk drive, Crawford and England hooked up on a pass for 11 yards, but an Eagle defender managed to punch the ball out from behind, resulting in a turnover that set up Benedictine on the Loras 47-yard line. Benedictine utilized that opportunity to take its first lead of the game on an eight-yard rush by quarterback Hector Gonzalez.

Benedictine (0-1) went up 21-7 on a 54-yard pass and catch between Gonzalez and wideout Sami Ayash with 10:26 to play in the half. 

Loras began its comeback on the following drive after the BU kickoff sailed out of bounds, resulting in the Duhawks setting up shop on their own 35-yard line. The drive was highlighted by a 22-yard scramble from England, placing Loras on the Benedictine two-yard line. Britt punched in a rush to make the score 21-14. Kelly's pick-six occurred on the ensuing possession, firing up the Loras faithful and tying things up at 21 apiece before the half.

Loras regained the lead on its first possession of the second half when England found wideout 'Mani Brown on an acrobatic catch from 19 yards out over a Benedictine defender to make it 28-21.

Benedictine knotted things back up on their ensuing drive when QB Evan Wydajewski found Stallings for his second score of the day, before regaining the lead with 1:14 to play in the third quarter after Wydajewski found tight end Justin Hocker for a 29-yard pitch and catch.

Trailing 28-35, Loras embarked on a 14-play, 84-yard drive that ended with Britt's second score on the night to even things back up. However, with 5:09 remaining in the contest, BU's Gegory Hoard rushed for a 72-yard touchdown that put Benedictine back on top. This time, however, the ensuing extra point was missed, giving the Eagles only a six-point advantage.

With just over five minutes remaining, things started to get tense in the Rock Bowl. After short gains on first and second down, England and Britt connected on a 27-yard reception that put the Duhawks on the Benedictine 38-yard line and fired up the Loras faithful. England connected on a pass of 12 yards to Crawford and 11 to Jacob Tedrow to set Loras up on the Benedictine 13-yard line. Back-to-back rushes by Keilon Pritchett got Loras down to the BU one-yard line before Loras called time out with 46 seconds remaining in the game.

Britt bulldozed his way into the end zone on the ensuring play to tie things up at 41-41 before kicker Scott Talmadge put Loras on top for good with a made extra point, his sixth of the day. Benedictine managed to get to its own 43-yard line before back-to-back incompletions on the final two plays handed Loras the thrilling 42-41 victory.

Up Next
The Duhawks will hit the road and travel to Holland, Mich., next weekend for a matchup with Hope College on Sept. 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. (CT).