Big Plays Spoil Spartans Football Conference Opener
Oct 4, 2014
DECORAH, Iowa - The University of Dubuque football team scored first on Saturday on a 22 yard pass from Zach Fry to Tyler Rutenbeck to give the Spartans their only lead of the day. The host Luther College Norse responded by scoring the next four touchdowns on a 24 yard run, a 68 yard run, a 41 yard pass and a 33 yard run before UD's Fry would scamper from a yard out to cut the final score to 14-28 in favor of the Norse.
Luther improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the IIAC as the Spartans fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the IIAC. The Norse racked up 401 yards of rushing, quarterback JJ Sirios finished with a high 224 yards on the ground and was 2-2 in passing for 97 yards. The Spartans suffered five turnovers in the loss and this season have eight interceptions and seven fumbles, losing four of the fumbles. The miscues have certainly helped add to the loss column in the final statistics each week. The Spartans finished the day with 176 yards rushing and 168 yards passing. Alec Arvanitakis led the ground attack with 16 rushes for 113 yards with his longest being a 31 yard run. Rutenbeck and Chris Bagley each caught four passes for a combined 98 yards.
Mitch Michaelis punted three times and dropped two inside the Norse 20 yard line. Dylan Schultz led the Spartans in kickoff returns with two for 62 yards. UD lost the possession game 23:02 to Luther's 36:58. UD converted just 3-10 third down conversions while the Norse were 11-17. UD's average field position on the afternoon was from their own 27 yard line.
Vinny Whipple led the Spartans defense with 18 tackles and a fumble recovery. Trevor Stauner collected 17 tackles, Everett Schwer had 12 including one for a loss of nine yards, and Zachary Marotta finished with 11 tackles.
The Spartans look to stop the big plays and turnovers when they host Simpson College (3-1 overall, 0-1 in IIAC) on the Spartan Homecoming next Saturday, Oct. 11 at 4:05 p.m. The game will be televised live on KCRG 9.2 out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Simpson lost to Buena Vista University in an offensive shootout 31-38. The two schools combined for 967 total yards in the game.
Scoring Summary (Final)
Luther College
U of Dubuque vs Luther College (Oct 04, 2014 at Decorah, Iowa)
U of Dubuque (1-3,0-1) vs. Luther College (4-0,1-0)
Date: Oct 04, 2014 Site: Decorah, Iowa Stadium: Carlson Stadium
Attendance: 1759
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
U of Dubuque........ 7 0 0 7 - 14
Luther College...... 7 14 0 7 - 28
Scoring Summary:
1st 04:09 DBQFB - Tyler Rutenbeck 22 yd pass from Zach Fry (Curtis Prull kick)
7 plays, 84 yards, TOP 2:33, DBQFB 7 - LUT 0
02:12 LUT - Josh Vos 24 yd run (Alex Knutson kick)
4 plays, 87 yards, TOP 1:51, DBQFB 7 - LUT 7
2nd 12:15 LUT - JJ Sirios 68 yd run (Alex Knutson kick)
4 plays, 82 yards, TOP 1:57, DBQFB 7 - LUT 14
08:30 LUT - Trevor Joiner 41 yd pass from JJ Sirios (Alex Knutson kick)
6 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:49, DBQFB 7 - LUT 21
4th 14:50 LUT - JJ Sirios 33 yd run (Alex Knutson kick)
9 plays, 84 yards, TOP 4:24, DBQFB 7 - LUT 28
09:30 DBQFB - Zach Fry 1 yd run (Curtis Prull kick)
12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:14, DBQFB 14 - LUT 28
Kickoff time: 1:00 pm End of Game: 3:24 Total elapsed time: 2:24
Officials: Referee: Scott Zahnle; Umpire: Tim Zaputil; Linesman: Mike Gansemer;
Line judge: Rick Swan; Back judge: Ron Van Hoeck; Field judge: Dutin Lutterman;
Side judge: Steve Ochs;
