Norse Defeat Duhawks 16-6
Oct. 6, 2007
The Luther College defensive unit played a whale of a game this afternoon as Luther defeated Loras College 16-6 here in Carlson Stadium. The defensive unit held the Duhawks to 184 yards of total offense, despite being on the field for over 16 minutes in the second half. The Duhawks managed just 65 yards rushing and 119 yards passing. Norse defenders posted 10 tackles for loss, including three sacks. The Norse also picked off Loras quarterback Matt McLaughlin three times and scored the only touchdown of the afternoon.
Luther took a 9-0 lead into the halftime locker room following field goals of 30 and 25 yards by Tyler Pease and a 33-yarder by Jordan Grimm.
In the second half, the Norse offense stalled, producing just 56 yards in total offense, forcing the Norse defensive unit to hold one of the top offensive squads in the IIAC in check.
Defensive back Darrick Olson scored the only touchdown of the game, after picking off his second pass of the afternoon and returning the errant throw 33-yards for the score. Mike Tangen was also credited with his second interception of the year early in the fourth quarter.
Linebackers Marcus Hendrickson and Brandt Rost led the team with 13 and 10 tackles respectively. Rost and Joe Taylor were also credited with one sack each, while Bobby Kuennen and Andrew Seyfer combined for the third sack of the afternoon.
The Luther offense produced a season low 211 yards in total offense. For the second week in a row, Tyler Sherden was held below the 100-yard mark, producing 54 yards on 23 carries. Adam Lamos was the second best rusher with 34 yards on eight carries.
Quarterback Justin Feldt, who returned to the lineup after missing last week due to an injury, was 12-of-21 for 126 yards. Feldt's biggest play of the day was a 66-yard strike to Jesse Kent that started on Luther's own 21-yard line and ended on the Loras 13. Facing a third and 27, Feldt laid a perfect pass over the shoulder of Kent, who was brought down from behind with a shoestring tackle by Nick Syska who had been beaten on the play. Kent led all receivers with three catches for 73 yards.
Running back Tyler Bass had a good afternoon returning punts and kick-offs. Bass returned four punts for 52 yards, including a long of 29. He also took the second half kick-off 46 yards, from the Luther seven to the Loras 47, giving the Norse excellent field position to start the third quarter.
The win gives Luther an Iowa Conference record of 2-2, 2-3 overall. Loras falls to 1-3 in the IIAC, 2-4 overall. Luther has now won five of the last six meetings between these two schools.
Next week is Homecoming and Luther will host Buena Vista University at 1:00 p.m. in Carlson Stadium.
