Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
For the second year in a row Luther has posted a victory in the conference opener. This afternoon, thanks to 498 yards of total offense, the Norse defeated the Spartans of University of Dubuque 28-14.
Dubuque put numbers on the board first, when Zach Fry connected with Tyler Rutenbeck on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 4:09 left in the first quarter.
Luther responded by scoring the next three times they had the football. Josh Vos leveled the score with a 24-yard touchdown run capping off a four-play, 87-yard drive that took only 1:51. On the next possession, quarterback JJ Sirios scored the first of his two touchdowns on the afternoon, busting loose for a career high 68-yard scamper early in the second frame. Four minutes later, Sirios connected with Trevor Joiner on a 41-yard pass that gave the Norse a 21-7 advantage at the half.
Sirios completed the Norse scoring with a 33-yard touchdown run 10 seconds into the fourth quarter. Place kicker Alex Knutson was a perfect 4-for-4 on PATs and is now 15-of-16 for the season.
Sirios had a huge afternoon. He rushed for a career high 224 yards on 31 carries and threw the football twice for 97 yards. Christian Moore had the longest reception of the afternoon of 56 yards.
Eight different players rushed the football as the Norse tallied 401 yards on the ground. Josh Vos tallied 69 and Alex Hain had 44 to cap off the top-three rushers.
Defensively, the Norse picked off Spartan quarterback Zach Fry four times. Gabe Saemisch, Neil Ross and Cody Berger were all credited with their first interception of the year, while Luke Pulliam picked off his third pass of the season.
Aric Elton and Matt Larson led the defensive unit with 12 and nine tackles respectively. The Norse held the Spartans to 344 yards of total offense, 176 on the ground and 168 in the air.
Dubuque running back Alec Arvanitakis rushed for 113 yards on 16 carries and All-American wide receiver Tyler Rutenbeck was held to just four receptions for 56 yards to lead the receiving corp.
Luther (4-0) is off to its best start since 1987. The victory also snapped a three-game skid to the Spartans and increased Luther's lead in the overall series to 51-23-6.
Next week, Luther will host Central College for Homecoming. Kick-off will take place in Carlson Stadium at 1:00 p.m.