WAVERLY, Iowa — The No. 9/10-ranked Wartburg College football team (1-1 overall) held a 14-7 halftime lead before No. 1 North Central College (2-0) rallied for a 26-20 victory Saturday at Walston-Hoover Stadium.
Dawson Rud paced the Knights with a season-high 112 rushing yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, marking his second consecutive game with a rushing touchdown. He also added four receptions for 45 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season, finding the end zone at least twice for the second straight game.
Wartburg's defense forced two turnovers, interceptions from
Adam Link and
Ben Wymer. Link returned his interception 59 yards for a touchdown, giving him an interception in consecutive games. Wymer recorded the first interception of his career and returned it 13 yards to midfield.
Jake Walker and
Tyler Gayer each posted nine tackles, as
David Borchers led the Knights with eight tackles and recorded his first sack of the season, while
Jason O'Boye and
Tyler Gayer each added tackles for loss.
North Central opened the game with a pair of third-down conversions before an accepted holding penalty stalled the drive.
Sam Roose broke up a third-down pass to force a punt with 11:16 remaining in the first quarter.
Wartburg responded with a 72-yard scoring drive on six plays. Rud converted a third-and-2 with a 48-yard run to the North Central 10 before punching in a 10-yard touchdown run at 8:13.
Jackson Othmer's extra point put the Knights ahead 7-0.
The Wartburg defense followed with a three-and-out, highlighted by a tackle for loss from O'Boye and another pass breakup by Roose. The Knights later reached the North Central 32 before turning the ball over on downs, while Gayer's third-down tackle for loss forced another Cardinals punt.
On the final play of the first quarter,
Josh Papesh connected with
Sam Heither for a 30-yard completion to the North Central 6, setting up the Knights near the goal line with Wartburg holding a 7-0 advantage.
Wartburg opened the second quarter at the North Central 6, but the Cardinals defense stopped the Knights on fourth down at 12:45. North Central later mounted a 62-yard, 11-play scoring drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run at 1:50, tying the game at 7-7.
The Knights answered just over 30 seconds later. Link intercepted a pass at the Wartburg 41 and raced 59 yards for a touchdown at 1:13. Othmer's extra point restored Wartburg's seven-point lead and sent the Knights into halftime ahead 14-7.
Neither team found the end zone during the opening portion of the third quarter, as both defenses continued to trade stops.
Keegan Weber pinned North Central at its own 10 with a 42-yard punt, while
Grant Gray helped force a third-down incompletion on another Cardinals possession.
North Central eventually took advantage of a Wartburg turnover late in the quarter, using the short field to put together a 31-yard scoring drive. A 13-yard run moved the Cardinals to the Wartburg 5 before a 2-yard touchdown run tied the game at 14-14 with 1:29 remaining in the third quarter.
Wymer provided another defensive spark early in the fourth, intercepting a pass at the Wartburg 37 and returning it 13 yards to midfield. The Knights were unable to capitalize, however, punting three plays later.
North Central then engineered a 16-play, 63-yard drive that consumed significant time and resulted in a 20-yard field goal at 4:11, giving the Cardinals their first lead of the afternoon at 17-14.
After another Wartburg interception, North Central extended its lead with a 22-yard touchdown run at 1:53, making it 24-14.
The Knights responded with a late scoring drive, as Papesh led Wartburg 75 yards down the field. The drive featured a 31-yard completion to Rud before Papesh connected with Rud on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds remaining. The reception marked Rud's first receiving touchdown of the season and capped his second consecutive multi-touchdown performance.
North Central blocked the ensuing extra-point attempt and returned it for a defensive PAT, accounting for the final, 26-20.
UP NEXT
Wartburg returns to action Saturday, Sept. 19, when UW-River Falls comes to town at 1 p.m.
