DUBUQUE, Iowa – Despite a late fourth quarter comeback effort, the Loras College football team fell to the University of Dubuque, 49-42 in a game that featured 13 combined touchdowns between the two squads.
 
Quarterback Joey Helminiak completed 26-of-44 passing attempts for a career-high 359 passing yards. He passed for four touchdowns, three of which were caught by Brock Couch. Couch had himself a day receiving the ball, hauling in nine catches for 176 yards, which marks a career-high. 
 
Jaheem Haynes followed Couch with seven catches for 59 yards. Jimmy Peterson and Jacob Tedrow each recorded four receptions for 53 and 52 yards, respectively, while Tedrow was able to find the end zone for his third touchdown of the year. 
 
Justin Stephens led the running attack for Loras (1-6 overall, 1-4 A-R-C), tallying 20 attempts for 63 yards and one touchdown. Tanner Gile had eight carries for 18 yards, while Carter Cahill took one of his three rushing attempts in for a touchdown. 
 
On defense, Niko Jemilo recorded nine total tackles and also added three sacks and a pass breakup to his stat line. Henry Ivers had eight tackles while recording a sack of his own. Will Speltz was responsible for the lone Spartan turnover thanks to his forced fumble. 
 
The University of Dubuque (3-3, 3-1) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Ben Gultig found Za'Cameron Brice for one of his two touchdowns for the game in a drive that took just under four minutes. Later in the first quarter, Gultig found Jamari Jenkins for a seven-yard touchdown reception to give UD a 14-0 lead. 
 
Looking to keep up with the Spartan offense, Helminiak was able to connect with Couch on a 21-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead in half. After forcing a three and out, Helminiak led a quick four-play drive that resulted in a Tedrow 35-yard touchdown grab to even the score at 14.
 
UD would go on to score 20 unanswered points and take a 34-14 lead before Stephens stopped the bleeding with a one-yard touchdown run. The two teams would then trade touchdowns before Helminiak found Couch again for a one-play, 61-yard touchdown reception to cut the Spartan lead to seven (49-42).
 
The Loras defense was able to come up with a big fourth down stop with a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. The Duhawks put themselves into Spartan territory before Sheik-Nuur Haji made a game sealing interception to end the comeback attempt. 
 
Up Next: The Duhawks enter their bye week and will return to the field on Nov. 2 as they travel to Pella, Iowa to take on Central College. Kickoff from Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium is set for 1 PM.