Spartans Have No Dutch Luck
Sep 29, 2012 | UD Sports Info
PELLA, Iowa - The University of Dubuque football team opened their 2012 Iowa Conference season on the road Saturday and would end the afternoon with 537 yards of offense, ran 100 total offensive plays, held possession time advantage by nearly 15 minutes, but lost to the Central Dutch 24-31.
The Spartan defense held the Dutch to just three catches and a total of just 28 yards passing, while UD aired it out by completing 37 of 61 attempts for quarterback Wyatt Hanus who finished the day with 412 yards passing. Leading receiver on the day was Austin Morgan who caught 21 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown. Morgan's 21 catches broke the UD and Iowa Conference record for single game receptions previously held by Michael Zweifel.
On the ground UD gained 125 yards with Kyle Acker finishing with 135 yards on 30 carries. Unfortunately for UD, the Dutch gained 325 yards on the ground while averaging 7.4 yards a carry.
UD started the contest by scoring on their first three possessions, using 26 plays and moving the ball 223 yards by scoring a touchdown, a field goal and a touchdown. UD held a 17-10 lead at halftime and the game would be tied 24-24 at the end of the third quarter. The Dutch took the go ahead score and their first lead of the afternoon on a 94 yard interception return for a touchdown. UD moved the ball down the field late in the game and made an attempt to possibly tie the game and send it into overtime, but the ball was knocked down in the endzone as time expired for UD. The Spartans started the day on average on their own 25 yard line while the Dutch would begin on their 33 yard line.
Trevor Runkle led tackles with three solos and seven assisted tackles Vincent Whipple had two solos and seven assisted tackles. The Spartans finished with six tackles for losses of 18 yards.
The Spartans (1-3 overall, 0-1 in IIAC) travel to face the Luther Norse (0-4 overall, 0-1 in IIAC) next week, Oct. 6. The Norse lost to the Loras Duhawks on Saturday 25-28.
