Football Suffers Just Second Loss of Season
Oct 29, 2016
DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque football team suffered just their second loss of the season on Senior Day on Chalmers Field after dropping the league game to Wartburg 35-43.
The Spartans scored first on a 25 yard pass from Conor Feckley to Najee Toomer with 8:51 of the first quarter. Wartburg would rally back to score a touchdown on their next three possessions to take the lead 20-7. UD's Dwayne Allen Jr.would slice into the Knights lead on a 32 yard touchdown grab at 6:10 left in the second quarter 14-20. Wartburg responded on a 11 play 75 yard drive on a one yard touchdown pass at 1:51 to lead 27-14. The quick hitting offense of the Spartans scored with four seconds left of the first half when Austin Morgan grabbed a 11 yard touchdown grab to end first half 21-27 in favor of the visiting Knights.
Maurece Herrion scampered in for a touchdown from two yards out at 4:16 of the third quarter to capture the lead 28-27. As time ran out in the third, the Knights scored on a six yard run to re-take the lead 33-28. They would add a 20 yard field goal with 7:40 to extend the lead 36-28. UD would be picked off and the Knights would score quickly on a four yard run with 5:23, 43-28. The Spartans would use a eight play, 79 yard drive to keep the game within a score 35-43 after a 14 yard TD grab by Jonathan Duarte at 3:35.
The two teams would finish with nearly identical total offensive yards with UD leading at 413 compared to the Knights 412 yards. The Knights were able to take advantage of a fake punt for 29 yards, a blocked punt recovered on the UD three yard line, and two interceptions.
Herrion led UD's ground attack with 26 rushes for 108 yards. Feckley completed 24-40 passt attempts for 291 yards. Najee Toomer caught 10 passes for 156 yards. Connor O'Malley punted four times for 155 yards, average of 38.8 yards with his longest being from 46 yards.
Michael Joseph led the Spartan defense with 12 tackles and three pass break-ups. Derek Trotter added 11 tackles and one quarterback hurry. Doug Gates chased the Knights quarterback all day and finished with team leading three QB hurries.
The Spartans (7-2, 5-2 in IIAC) finish their season at Loras, next week on Nov. 5 at 1:00 p.m. The Duhawks (1-7, 1-5 in IIAC) captured their first win of the season after beating the Luther College Norse 43-28.
