Blake Suckow and Josh Mugge force a fumble near Loras' endzone in the first quarter of the Knights game against the Duhawks on Saturday. The fumble was the first of two by Loras on the same play. Mugge recovered the ball in the endzone to help give the Knights a lead. Photo by Andrew Nostvick
ANDREW NOSTVICK SPORTS EDITOR
The Knights football team earned their third straight victory after defeating Loras College this Saturday 28-9.
The Duhawks were the first to put points on the board after a 42-yard drive that ended with a field goal.
“Defensively I thought we played absolutely great. Those guys are finding their rhythm right now and the confidence that they have in each other is very good,” Nick Yordi said.
The Knights’ first points on the board came after a Loras fumble. The Loras quarterback was sacked for a loss of eight yards but, while falling to the ground, fumbled the ball. A Loras lineman picked up the ball and also fumbled it. Josh Mugge found the second fumble and turned it into six for the Knights.
“For us to score on defense and be ahead in the game, even though things hadn’t really gone very well for us, I think it gave everybody a lift,” head coach Rick Willis said.
In the second quarter, the Duhawks drove the ball down field, even converting on fourth down, but Mugge intercepted the ball in the end zone.
Yordi picked up his only touchdown, passing and rushing, late in the first half when he sneaked in for a score, putting the Knights ahead 14-3. Yordi completed a school record 31 passes.
Another opportunity came to the Duhawks as a Yordi fumble was returned 20 yards for a touchdown. Loras failed to convert the two point conversion and weren’t able to cut the lead to three.
“We’re just beating ourselves there and that’s really been the downfall for our offense this year,” Yordi said. there and that’s really been the downfall for our offense this year,” Yordi said.
The Knights responded with a 91-yard kick return by VandenHul on the next play.
“It took the momentum right back to us. Momentum is a huge deal and one of the things we’ve been talking about as a team is understanding momentum,” Willis said. “I think that kick return was a huge momentum play.”
Lamar Harvey scored the final touchdown for the Knights as he ran it in from 15-yards out.
With the win, the Knights are now 3-1 overall, 2-0 in conference. Their 2-0 record puts them in second place in the conference.
The Knights have a bye week this week.
The next game will be on Saturday, Oct. 10, when the Knights face Buena Vista at home for Family Weekend.
“We got two weeks to work our butts off and fix those mistakes,” Yordi said.