DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The No. 11-ranked Wartburg College football team (4-2 overall, 3-0 A-R-C) extended its A-R-C winning streak to 37 consecutive games, rolling past Loras College (2-4, 0-3 A-R-C) 68-7 Saturday at the Rock Bowl.
The Knights piled up 592 yards of total offense, including 474 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, while forcing four interceptions and holding the Duhawks to just 169 yards.
Through the first three games of conference play this season, Wartburg has outscored its opponents 209-47, and have put up 1,864 yards of total offense with 1,231 of those coming on the ground.
Junior running back
Marcus Beatty spearheaded the offensive attack with a career-high 141 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries. Senior
Dawson Rud added 127 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while junior
Grant Hocker found the end zone twice, including a 62-yard touchdown run. Quarterback
Josh Papesh completed 11 of 18 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with
Matthew Hilleman and
Taylen Curry for scores. Overall, the Knights were one rushing touchdown short of the program record of nine, with eight total rushing scores today.
Wartburg's defense made its mark by picking off four passes and repeatedly putting the Knights in position to extend their lead.
Ryan Doyle,
Tyler Gayer,
Sam Watts and
Pryce Rochford each recorded an interception, while Rochford paced the defense with nine tackles and added a 17-yard interception return. Gayer's interception late in the first half set up another Wartburg touchdown as the Knights carried a 33-7 lead into halftime.
Wartburg established control early, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter to take a 19-0 lead. Beatty opened the scoring with a 69-yard touchdown run at 8:54, and Rud added a six-yard scoring run later in the quarter. Beatty found the end zone again on the final play of the opening period to extend the Knights' advantage.
The Knights continued to build their lead in the second quarter. After
Jake Walker recorded an 11-yard sack to help force a Loras punt, Wartburg drove into Duhawk territory and Papesh connected with Hilleman for a seven-yard touchdown. Loras answered with an 82-yard scoring drive, capped by Jeremy Pittman's 30-yard touchdown run, but Wartburg responded with a pair of interceptions and a touchdown. Gayer picked off a pass with 1:55 remaining, and
Drew Hobart scored on a 33-yard run one play later to send the Knights into halftime with a 33-7 advantage.
Wartburg's defense continued to create opportunities in the third quarter. Doyle intercepted a Loras pass to set up the Knights near the red zone, and Papesh found Curry for a 15-yard touchdown after a 33-yard run by Rud helped move the offense downfield. The defense later stopped the Duhawks on fourth-and-one near midfield, setting the stage for another Wartburg scoring drive capped by Beatty's 20-yard touchdown run. Watts added an interception return to the Loras three-yard line, setting up
Korben Michels for a six-yard touchdown. Rochford recorded another interception later in the quarter as the Knights carried a commanding lead into the final period.
Hocker scored on an eight-yard run early in the fourth quarter before breaking free for a 62-yard touchdown later in the period, extending Wartburg's lead to 68-7. The Knights' defense forced punts on Loras' next two possessions, and Wartburg's offense ran out the clock to secure the road victory.
NOTES
Wartburg recorded a season-high eight rushing touchdowns and four interceptions, surpassing its season average of 2.4 interceptions per game. The Knights reached 40 total touchdowns on the season entering the game and added 10 more against Loras. The defensive performance limited the Duhawks to 169 yards of total offense, while the offense piled up 592 yards, including 474 rushing yards.
Beatty recorded career highs with 141 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, marking a season high in both categories and giving him three total touchdowns for the game. Rud scored at least one touchdown for the third consecutive game, while Hocker recorded a season-high two rushing touchdowns, marking his first multi-touchdown game of the season. Hobart recorded his first rushing touchdown of the season, and Papesh threw at least two touchdown passes for the second consecutive game, moving his season total to 11.
Defensively, Rochford recorded his first interception of the season and led the Knights with nine tackles, nearly doubling his season average of 4.6 tackles per game. Doyle and Watts each recorded their first interceptions of the season.
David Borchers reached 27 total tackles on the season, including four against Loras, surpassing the 25-tackle milestone. Bo Kruse and
Colin Patterson each recorded their first tackles of the season.
UP NEXT
The Knights will return back to Dubuque, Iowa next Saturday, Oct. 24, taking on the University of Dubuque Spartans (4-2 overall, 3-0 A-R-C), who took down Simpson College earlier today by a score of 56-27. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., at Chalmers Field.
