Following a 19-17 loss to Cornell College, it would not be appropriate to say the season has been getting easier for coach Paul Mierkiewicz as he comes down to the final two games of his first season as Loras coach.

Loras, after starting the season 1-1, dropped its sixth straight game to bring its record to 1-7 on the season, tarnishing in sophomore quarterback Sean Brennan’s first college start.

“We did not execute well enough early on,” said coach Mierkiewicz. “We just ran out of time in the end. It’s easy to focus in on how the last couple of minutes went, but we left a lot of points out there in the first half.”

Brennan, starting in place of injured senior Vaughn Gesing, was able to get the ball out fast. He completed 50 percent of his passes going 12-24 through the air for 261 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and one interception, while only getting sacked twice.

“Sean did some nice things. Cornell gave us some looks in the secondary that we were able to exploit,” said Mierkiewicz. “There are always a couple you want back. Vaughn is a week-to-week thing, but he will not be suited up this weekend against Wartburg which will be tough with it being senior day, so we will continue to go with Sean and work out a strong game plan for him.”

In the second half, Loras was able to strike at the end of the third quarter to bring the score back within three points. Junior Billy Kass was able to net 20 yards on four straight running plays that were then capped off on the next play with a 29-yard throw to receiver Gavin Kaiser for a touchdown.

The Duhawks scored their final points with just over two minutes left to play in the game when Brennan completed four straight passes, one to Nate Even and three, including the 37-yard touchdown, to Kaiser.

Wilker trotted on to try the on-side kick, but to no avail, as Cornell recovered the ball to preserve their 19-17 victory.

With Brennan still feeling out the college-game play, it is nice to have a senior receiver in Gavin Kaiser who was on the receiving end of eight passes and the two touchdowns thrown by Brennan for a total of 154 yards.

“Vaughn is experienced and can play the position as good as anyone in the conference, so that aspect hurts us,” said Kaiser. “However, I, along with the team, have been very impressed by Sean’s commitment, dedication, and leadership. These are qualities that are important to have as a quarterback, and he has done a great job in possessing these qualities.”

This weekend against Wartburg College will mark Loras’ final home game of the season, as well Senior Day to recognize the last time the seniors will get to dress up in front of their fans at the Rock Bowl.

Gavin Kaiser gave his perspective as his final chapter as a Duhawk prepares to come to a close.

“To sum up the four seasons here at Loras, I would say that we have been through a lot, but we have had a lot of fun in the process.  We went through a coaching change; we had some successes on the field while also having less successful seasons, so we have been through a lot. This season, record-wise, was obviously something that this group of seniors did not expect. However, that doesn’t change the fact that we enjoy the game and our teammates.”

Saturday had the setting for a perfect football day for the Duhawks as they welcomed Coe College to the Rock Bowl, but then the second half happened.

A new quarterback behind center, an interception returned for touchdown and a power outage for the whole campus only was the peak of the action for coach Paul Mierkiewicz and his team as their 28-21 lost to Coe now gives them a record of 1-6 on the season.

“I have gone to games before where the clock goes out, but it was odd to have the PA system go out because then the ref can’t tell us how much time is left in the game as easy and then no one in the stands knows how much time is left,” said Mierkiewicz.

As for the new quarterback behind center sophomore Sean Brennan had to replace Vaughn Gesing, who has been dealing with an injured shoulder since the beginning of October.

After Coe converted a 4th-and-3 touchdown pass to make it 21-14 in favor of the Kohawks going into halftime, Loras had the ball in its possession for the final seconds as Gesing dropped back only to scramble back to the line of scrimmage and get hit on his injured shoulder.

The play, in hindsight, was one that could have been handled differently with what coach Mierkiewicz knows now as Gesing is listed as doubtful for the game Saturday.

“When I look back I wish we just ran it and gone into the half, but Vaughn has been really banged up and we knew he was probably a tackle away from being in this situation,” said Mierkiewicz. “Immediate response for us was what can Sean do out there that will be comfortable for him. He ran the offense all week in practice, luckily it gave us all of halftime to talk to Sean and figure out a game plan.”

While Gesing was in the game the Duhawks did manage to put together 14 points on two touchdown passes to senior Gavin Kaiser on a 4-yard reception and a 71-yard reception. Gesing finished the first half completing 7-12 passes, with one interception. Kaiser caught six passes for 131 yards. Junior running back Billy Kass netted 143 yards on the ground.

Throughout the game the team put themselves in certain situations, according to Mierkiewicz, that did not put the team in a good position to win such as the block punt that gave Coe a short field to work with and resulted in 27-yard touchdown for the first score of the game on a 4th-and-5 play.

The penalties were another element of the game that affected the Duhawks, who collected 10 penalties for 100 yards. The way coach Mierkiewicz looked at it was to take into consideration what happened on those plays that were wiped out by the penalties so in reality it felt more like 10 penalties for 200 yards.

The other play that stood out was the interception returned by the Kohawks on the Duhawks second possession of the second half that made the score 28-14, but despite the result the team did not lose any confidence and bounced back well.

“We really responded well after [the interception]. In the second half of games in the past we were not as productive, but this week we were productive and I feel like we just ran out of time.”

Sophomore Sean Brennan, from Lake Villa, Illinois, entered onto the field in the second half and looked comfortable running the offense despite his stat line from the day, completing 1-4 passes and throwing two interceptions, but scoring his first touchdown on a 9-yard keeper at the beginning of the 4th quarter to bring Loras to 21 points.

“I have learned a lot about the quarterback position from watching Vaughn and I think that is going to help me in the future,” said Brennan. “I need to fill Vaughn’s shoes when it comes to the leadership role he plays.”

The defense gave up 366 yards of total offense, led by Coe’s all-American quarterback Brad Boyle. Senior Eric Meyer and Zach Myers led the team with eight and six tackles, respectively. Sophomore David Pirkle added three tackles and the lone interception of Boyle.

“We had a couple breakdowns several times in coverage on defense. Coe is a tough team to defend and we have to decide whether to leave open the seams in the middle or to try to tighten that down and open up the outsides. I feel in the second half we played very well on the defensive side of the ball.”

Loras will travel to Cornell College this weekend to take on the Rams who are 2-5 overall, as well as 0-5 in the conference.

The Duhawks may still be trying to find their identity on the football field under their new regime, but entering a bye week this week, the one main thing the team sorely needs is overall roster health.

Loras headed to Luther College this past weekend and came out on the wrong end of a 20-13 game, which gave Loras a record of 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the Iowa Conference. Luther is 1-4 overall with a 1-1 record in the conference.

“Saturday was frustrating. I don’t think we got beat by a better team Saturday. It was a good game overall, our players and coaches worked so hard to prepare for the game,” said Coach Paul Mierkiewicz. “But just because you work hard does not always mean it is going to translate to on the field.”

The game started out the same like the rest: sloppy. Luther received the ball after a botched punt by Loras and decided to go for it on 4th down. However, the Loras defense stood tall behind another strong performance by senior Zach Myers.

The offense had their turn, but quickly  turned the ball over on a fumble by receiver-turned-running back Billy Kass, which helped Luther get on the board first with a field goal.

“Real good defense again by our team, we are searching for an identity because in the first two games we put up a lot of offense, but struggled on defense,” said Mierkiewicz. “Now these past two weeks we have played great defense and struggled on offense. With the week off we get to look back at the way we are doing things, take a deep breath, and make sure we are executing the way we want.”

Senior Zach Myers improved on last week’s career best performance of 13 total tackles with 14 this week.

David Zoeckler tied with Myers with 14 total tackles and five solo. Junior Dan Badovinac and senior Eric Meyer each recovered fumbles, and juniors Kyle Kirchoff and Brandon Ronan teamed up to split Loras’ one sack of Luther’s Chris Reynolds.

Kass made up for his fumble early in the game by taking a 17-yard run into the endzone on Loras’ second offensive drive following the fumble.

The drive lasted eight plays for 53 yards, with all eight plays involving Kass running the ball until he found the end zone.

Coming out of halftime, tied at 6-6, Luther wasted no time breaking the tie on the first second half possession with a healthy mix of run and pass plays. They picked up four first downs along the way to the end zone, collecting 69 yards on the 12-play drive.

Loras would tie it up one more time in the third quarter on an 8-yard pass from senior Vaughn Gesing to fullback Kyle Bergquist before the eventual game winning touchdown by Luther in the 4th quarter.

Junior Billy Kass was the central focus of the Loras offense this past week rushing 32 times for a net gain of 119 yards, Kass is second in the conference in rushing with 521 yards on 126 attempts averaging 4.4 yards a carry.

Despite the positives of the running game, the team’s other playmaker, Vaughn Gesing, struggled throughout the game working through a separated shoulder he suffered homecoming weekend against Simpson.

“He did not practice at all last week due to the separated shoulder on the throwing arm, but he gutted it out, he is a courageous man,” said Mierkiewicz. “I think it hampered him and led to his timing being off. The ball was sailing on him and that made some passes go too high making things difficult during the game.”

Gesing completed 5-for-21 passes for 36 yards and two interceptions to go with his touchdown pass.

With half the season in the books, a bye week could not come at a better time for the Duhawks.

Mierkiewicz hopes the team can take advantage of the week by getting healthy, since the team has been going hard at it for almost seven weeks straight, dating back to training camp.

Loras will look to work on the offense, defense, and special teams this week to prepare a gameplan for when Central comes to the Rock Bowl on Oct. 15.

The key may be in possession of the University of Dubuque Spartans this year after beating the Duhawks, 41-16, Saturday night, but the Loras football team can’t dwell on the past — not with homecoming weekend coming up.

Now just three games into his first season as head coach, Paul Mierkiewicz said he will continue to lay the groundwork for this weekend’s game against Simpson.

Despite the large deficit at the end of the game, the Duhawks had several positives to take away from the game, most coming in the first half after both teams went into halftime tied at 13.

“We played hard in the first half,” Mierkiewicz said. “I don’t think we quit in the second half; it was just a different intensity and we may have just ran out of gas. U-D started doing some things that made their game go from 2nd-and-6-yard situations to 2nd-and-1-yard situations, compared to ours going to long-distance situations, and we just struggled to do some things offensively. It seemed like we were a little more in flow of the game in the first half.”

The first half started with a quick three-and-out forced by the Loras defense, followed by an eight minute drive that put the Duhawks on the scoreboard first with a field goal by Tyler Wilker.

Senior Eric Meyer continued the Duhawks impressive start with an interception on the Spartans next drive, but was unable to turn the 32-yard return into Spartan territory into any points when junior running back Ryan Baez fumbled on his first carry of the season, after being sidelined with an injury the first two games.

The Spartans would add two touchdowns before halftime one from their quarterback Wyatt Hanus and the other from their running back Justin Spaulding, while the Duhawks added a touchdown after a big return on a kickoff all the way to the Spartans 30-yard line.  The drive was capped by a 1-yard rushing score by senior quarterback Vaughn Gesing.

Gesing had an efficient day going 16-22 through the air for 251 yards, not throwing an interception but getting sacked seven times. His 16 completions in the game made for a special day for the senior as he broke 1986 graduate Dave Dietz’s 26-year-old career completions mark with a successful throw to Gavin Kaiser in the third quarter.

“It’s a great honor to hold any record, especially with the rich history Loras football has. There were a lot of really good football players and quarterbacks that have been through Loras over the years,” said Gesing. “Most of the credit should be given to my teammates and coaches over the last four years, without them the record wouldn’t be possible.”

The second half would be the tale of a different half on the part of the Duhawks as they would try to build momentum early when they went for it on a fourth-and-one, but sophomore running back Javan Amiable was pushed back for a loss of two.

Turnovers also played an unfortunate part in the Duhawks second-half display, hurting most when junior running back Billy Kass was unable to bring in the ball on a toss play, and the Spartans scooped the ball up and returned it for a touchdown and a 27-13 lead.

“Where it got real tough was when we fumbled the football and they took it in for the score, that was quick seven there,” said Mierkiewicz. “Then we botched a punt which gave them a short field and that was 14 points there that we were going to have a tough time getting back. We came out in the second half and we weren’t successful.”

As for the turnovers, fumbling three times and losing two, coach Mierkiewicz said that the team continues to practice hard to prevent their ball carriers from turning the ball over dedicating certain periods of practice to helping his players improve on, but it will just be something that the players will continue to try and get better at.

Overall, Kass rushed for 99 yards, and first-year receiver Nate Even and senior Gavin Kaiser combined for 11 receptions and a total of 200 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball Nate Suchomel would post a team high five solo tackles and tie with Frank Pereiro for the team high with seven total tackles. The Duhawks only turnover came from Meyer’s first half interception.

Duhawk nation was in full support of the football team making the march from Loras to the University of Dubuque to give the Duhawks more added incentive to protect the key, although Loras was unable to carry out the objective at hand the nation still had an effect on the team.

“I’m telling you that was awesome because it was quiet when we were out there for warm-ups and their fans were doing their stuff then you look down the road and you saw everyone coming,” said Mierkiewicz. “It was awesome, I thought we had more students there, I am not convinced we did not have more fans then UD there. Says a lot to our program and to the spirit on the campus if we can continue that support we will make this campus proud of this football team.”

Gesing also hopes to see even more excitement from the nation of fans this weekend against Simpson College after the outpouring of support against Dubuque.

“Speaking on behalf of the team, we loved the atmosphere our fans and mainly the student section provided on Saturday night. It was the loudest and rowdiest student section I have seen in the last four years,” said Gesing. “We really appreciate the support and regret not being able to give our fans a win. We hope to get the same support this Saturday for homecoming. It will be very emotional for everyone on the team, especially us seniors since it is our final homecoming.”

It was a day that coach Paul Mierkiewicz had been anticipating for almost nine months as he took to the Rock Bowl as the Duhawks’ new head coach.

Of course it did not have the same feeling as once being a player and arriving on the field by coming down the hill, but being able to take his team onto Bob Bierie football field was a special moment as Loras collected its first victory beating Rockford College, 48-17.

Opening up the scoring for the Duhawks on the special day was running back Billy Kass, who wasted no time taking a carry 34 yards into the end zone within the first two minutes of the game.

Kass, who finished the game with 165 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, was happy to be part of the first win for coach Mierkiewicz.

“Coach Merk spends a lot of time working hard to prepare us for Saturdays. It felt great to get that first win for him at his alma mater in the Rock Bowl,” said Kass. “He really knows what it takes to win football games, and I think it will become a trend while he is the head coach here at Loras.”

One of the keys going into the game for the Duhawks was to protect their quarterback, Vaughn Gesing, better than they had in the past.

In the first game of the season, Elmhurst was able to get to the quarterback six times, but on Saturday the offensive line only allowed one sack and added some scoring punch as junior Michael Donnelly recovered a Kass fumble in the end zone to give the team a comfortable lead.

“The line opened up some big holes for Javan and me to run through. They made it a really good day to be a running back leading to a lot of success on the ground,” said Kass. “As a team we gave a great overall effort. We have a few things that need to be touched up, but it should all get fixed during practice this week leading up to the UD game.”

The running game would prove to be the focal point of the offense as sophomore Javan Aimable would contribute 124 yards of his own as well as an 82-yard scamper down the field to add on a late game score.

The team as a whole netted 300 yards on the ground, and although that number might come back down to a more average amount, the run game will only be helped with this week’s return of junior running back Ryan Baez for the game against University of Dubuque.

“He’s going to come out with some fire and really add some energy to our team, and more specifically to our running game,” said Kass. “With Baez back it will add another weapon to our offense and his contribution should give us a great amount of success the remainder of this season.”

The defensive unit for the Duhawks did not have as great of a start to the season against Elmhurst.

But a lot of that had to do with an inability of the offense to move down the field that led to the defense staying on the field for a long period of time.

Coach Mierkiewicz said he was looking for the defense to tackle better and to force more punts on to the opponent.

The message was well received as the team forced Rockford to punt six times, forced five fumbles with Ryan Steckel and Kyle Kirchoff both recovering one, and intercepting the opposition three times.

Zach Myers led the team with 11 total tackles, followed by David Pirkle, who picked up defensive player of the week honors with nine total tackles as well as a forced fumble, one pass deflection and two interceptions in the victory.

Quarterback Vaughn Gesing did not find himself in too many passing situations with the success on the running game, but he made the most of his completions while collecting 146 yards through the air.

Gesing completed 9 passes on 18 attempts, with three of those completions going for touchdowns, two to Gavin Kaiser and one to Brendan Oates.

This weekend the rivalry that is all too familiar in the city of Dubuque regains its traction as the Duhawks, 1-1, take the short trip to the University of Dubuque, 2-0, to kick off the Iowa Conference schedule.

“They have a high powered offense and have done well in their first 2 games this year. There needs to be a sense of urgency this week during practice. I expect everyone to come out and really work hard to make sure they are prepared come 6 o’clock on Saturday,” said Kass. “It’s important we have a great week of practice to make sure this weekend is a successful one.”

Dealing with the adversity is just one of the things that new head coach, Paul Mierkiewicz, has been stressing that his team will need to deal with as they begin the season.

Difficulties were never more present than this past weekend as the Duhawks took on Elmhurst on the road and lost 50-24, despite going into halftime with a 21-20 lead.

Sitting down with coach Mierkiewicz going into the weekend against Elmhurst it was clear that the former Duhawk fullback focuses solely on his opponent for that week.

“Against Elmhurst we have to take care of the football offensively, and establish the line of scrimmage because if we do not, then there is no forward progress for the team from there,” said Mierkiewicz. “Defensively it is very important to get turnovers, we try to keep it simple, and we want players aggressive and flying around to the ball.”

The team fulfilled the coach’s keys early in the game as junior linebacker Brandon Ronan forced a fumble on Elmhurst’s third play of the game while senior defensive end Aaron Strong recovered the ball and returned it to the end zone 45 yards for an early 7-0 lead.

When the defense returned to the field for Elmhurst’s second possession they again shut down the opposing offense quickly forcing a three and out. Senior quarterback Vaughn Gesing marched the offense back on the field and connected with senior receiver Gavin Kaiser for a 45 yard reception and followed it a play later with a 42 yard reception in the end zone to put Loras up 14-0.

Gesing, who threw 10 interceptions and 14 touchdowns last season, enters his final season as a Duhawk, accepting his third different offensive playbook and impressing the coach along the way.

“Vaughn makes all the throws, has a great arm, and has grasped the offense well, having three different offenses in three years is a tough deal, but he has done a nice job and I think he feels really comfortable,” said Mierkiewicz.

The coach also mentioned how he does not hold a standard when it comes to expectations for his shot-caller behind center. Instead he just watches for him to make good decisions in the scheme and points out that there is a fine line between a great pass and a bad decision being made, which can sometimes be out of the control of the quarterback.

That was the case for Gesing who threw one interception in the second half after it was tipped by a receiver. Gesing finished the game throwing 28 passes and connecting on 14 for 248 yards through the air. Gesing said he gauges his performance on wins and losses and that as the quarterback he is responsible for the outcome of the offense.

“My expectations for our offense are for everyone to play to their potential and in turn work efficiently as a unit,” said Gesing. “If we do those things, our offense can be very effective. So, yes, I have high expectations for our offense.”

Loras had a productive day on the ground with junior running back Billy Kass rushing for 92 yards and adding a 13 yard touchdown to his day in the second quarter. Kass gained the starting position for Loras when junior running back Ryan Baez hurt his hamstring earlier in August, but it has been just another one of those things that coach Mierkiewicz has had to deal with.

“Billy Kass has been getting the starting reps for the past 2 weeks and I believe he understands completely what he is doing,” said Mierkiewicz. “It all comes back to how you deal with the adversity and Ryan’s injury is an adverse situation that we have to deal with as an offensive group and somebody else has to step up in a positive way and Billy has.”

The Duhawk defense that finished last season ranked third total in the Iowa Conference, struggled to re-gain what succeeded for them early in the game against Elmhurst as they gave up 30 points in the second half as well as allowing 31 first downs, 547 offensive yards in the game, and allowing the Blue Jays to convert 8 of 12 on third down.

“We did have a very good start to the game; however, we did have a huge letdown in the second half following the rain delay. I think in order to win football games it means staying mentally disciplined and competitive on every play for a full 4 quarters,” said Gesing. “In the second half, we had too many plays as a team where we had a mental or physical lapse that cost us some opportunities. We also struggled on first down and often ended up behind the chains in 2nd and long situations.”

The Duhawks will open up their first game at home this weekend as they host Rockford College, who is 0-1 after losing this past weekend against Westminster College 51-24.

Last week in my sociology class, we discussed football and its relationship with society. Specifically, we used football as an example, but really any sport would be a good example. We compiled positive aspects of sports and society, such as jobs being available and entertainment. But we also spoke of the negatives, which seemed to far outweigh the positives. We came up with many: sports are too big a spectacle (yes, I know the Super Bowl is a pathetic display, but that’s not really what sports are about); they overpay undeserving athletes; and, the main negativity was the rivalries that fester between cities and people.

I just sat back and took it all in. It was obvious many in my class did not understand sports. Which is okay, not everyone does. The sports landscape isn’t for everyone, but many of the points said in the class were not true. They didn’t understand what sports can do to a city, to a state and to a country. But for those who understand sports, well, for them it’s a whole new ballgame.

For some, sports take up too much room and cost too much money. The people who think that have never been to New Orleans, a city torn apart by destruction. Those people didn’t watch Monday Night Football on ESPN the night the New Orleans Saints defeated not only the Atlanta Falcons, but the despair of the city. In one night, the team shed its perennial nickname the “’aint’s,” and brought a city together. The Saints were a catalyst of change in New Orleans. They weren’t the only form of inspiration in New Orleans, but for a city looking for a leader, the Saints came marching.

Change is possible; the Saints showed that. But was it the Saints, or was it the sport they play? To answer that question, one needn’t look any further than Parkersburg, Iowa. We all know the story. A devastating F5 tornado (the strongest type) tore apart the southern part of the town, killing six citizens and injuring 70. But a hero emerged: the old coach, Ed Thomas.  The football coach. Known around town as simply, “Coach,” in less than a year he took the city on his back, promising to rebuild the city he proudly called home. One of Coach’s creeds was, “Remember where you came from.” Former football players came from miles around to help re-build the city, the place where they played football for years; the place where they came from. Then, Coach was tragically shot, and once again the town deepened into a lull. However, less than a month later, the Aplington-Parkersburg football team was on national TV, playing their first high football game of the year on ESPN. The whole town showed up at Ed Thomas Field to see the game, which was in honor of their coach, their town and last but not least, their football team.  But it doesn’t stop there.

Without sports, we would not know of a young man named Jackie Robinson, who overcame scrutiny, race, death threats and fastballs to become an award winning, championship baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Without sports, we would not have witnessed a team of high school kids defeat a hockey powerhouse, and in doing so, shedding a bit of warmth on a war gone Cold and showing the world that sometimes, the underdog can win.

Without sports, no one would have witnessed Dale Earnhardt’s son win at the place where his daddy lost, while pulling his teammate right behind him. (Want to see a truly amazing video? YouTube the finish of the 2001 Pepsi 400).

So before we decide sports are insignificant to the world, or that they are a waste of time, we need to think about what sports bring to us. Without sports, we would not sing the national anthem. Without sports, kids would have far fewer heroes.

Without sports, there’d be less to cheer for, and sometimes, that’s all we need.

COURTESY OF JON DENHAM, SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR

Loras College has tabbed Paul Mierkiewicz (’89) as the 25th head coach of the Duhawks, beginning December 20, 2010.

Mierkiewicz has been the head coach at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska since 2001 and a member of the Broncos’ staff since 1998. At Hastings, Mierkiewicz served as the Offensive Coordinator and Assistant to the Athletics Director (1998-2001) prior to his 10-year run as head coach. Under Mierkiewicz’s direction as head coach, the Broncos went 65-41. His 65 wins are the third most in the Bronco history.

Mierkiewicz is also an alumnus of Loras College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education in 1989 and master’s in Athletic Administration (Physical Education) in 1995. He served on Loras’ coaching staff from 1992-1998 and was the Offensive Coordinator for the final five seasons of that stretch.

“This is such a great opportunity for my family and me,” Mierkiewicz said on Thursday.

Regarding his return to the Rock Bowl sidelines, Mierkiewicz was both reflective and looking forward to 2011.

“Loras College is a wonderful place with tremendous people and tremendous student-athletes, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like a bit of a homecoming for me.” Mierkiewicz added. “And (the city of) Dubuque just continues to show what a great place it is to live and work. I can’t wait to get started.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that there are a number of good things already in place with the Duhawk football team. We’re going to build on those things every day to get where we want to be.”

Athletic Director Bob Quinn expressed his thoughts on Mierkiewicz’s hiring on Thursday as well.

“Paul has a very clear vision for what he sees as the future of Loras College football, and that vision will serve our student-athletes very well,” Quinn said. “I’m confident he will serve the young men on our football roster and the Loras community very well as he works towards achieving the goals we’ve discussed. His understanding of Duhawk football past and present gives him the unique ability to lead our program.”

Mierkiewicz is a native of Morton Grove, Illinois. He and his wife Heather have two daughters, Jensen and Abigail. His time spent in the Catholic education system includes both his time at Loras College and at Notre Dame High School (Niles, Illinois). He will begin his duties with the Duhawks on Monday, December 20.

“Our plans are to move forward in the recruiting process right away and continue the momentum we’ve established so far this off season,” Mierkiewicz noted. “I’m excited to get back in the Rock Bowl during the spring semester and begin preparing for the 2011 season.”

The season comes to an end for the Loras football team as well as the 19 seniors who took the field last week to win their final game 24-10, giving them a final record of 5-5.

The Loras defense set the tone on the first drive forcing the Luther Norse to a three and out which turned the ball over to the Duhawk offense. Junior quarterback Vaughn Gesing wasted no time getting off to a quick lead in the game by connecting with senior wide-receiver Walt Labuz for an 80 yard reception, on the first play of the drive.

Labuz would be a focal point for the offense, in his last game as a Duhawk, totaling 120 yards catching the ball four times from Gesing, who completed 7 of 16 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns despite three interceptions.

“I felt I played well and Vaughn made some great throws that let us have a great game,” said Labuz.

The running game moved the game along quickly for coach Steven Osterberger’s Duhawks and they had faith in sophomore running back Ryan Baez to carry a big bulk of the carries. Baez compiled his best career numbers against Luther gaining 125 yards on 34 carries, giving him a total of 532 for the season.

“I believe the entire team played a great game,” said Osterberger. “Walt and Ryan played hard and made some big plays especially when we needed it.”

Sophomore running back Matt Hillard added a late touchdown in the first quarter to make the score 14-3, also giving him nine touchdowns to finish the season. Gesing hooked up with Labuz again in the third quarter for a 13 yard reception that would mark the final touchdown for the 2010 Duhawks.

For some players like Labuz, it was a weird feeling going in to this final game knowing it was going to be his last, but winning their final game is the best way to put an end to a collegiate career.

“It is always emotional when you say good bye to an outstanding group of young men,” said Osterberger. “The seniors have put a lot of heart and soul into this program.”

Loras’ win over Luther gave them a 4-4 record in the conference good enough to tie for fourth place in the Iowa Conference, which is good considering the three teams ahead of them: Wartburg, Coe, and Central are all ranked in the Division III rankings to end the season.

Loras took the football field last weekend with only one thing on their minds: To win. And it did it in high-scoring fashion, as the Duhawks beat Cornell, 37-12.
It did not take long for the Duhawks to light up the scoreboard as a five play, 63-yard drive on their first possession capped off with junior quarterback Vaughn Gesing connecting with senior wide receiver Walt Labuz for a 19-yard touchdown.
“It was nice to have a good game I was able to get open,” said Labuz. “The offensive line had good protection, and Vaughn made some good throws which allowed us to have a good game.”
The Duhawk’s second possession followed their first with the same results. The eight play drive went for 57 yards and ended when Gesing connected with senior receiver John Ingersoll for a touchdown of 17 yards, his fourth receiving touchdown of the season.
Coach Steven Osterberger thought the team was focused and played a complete game through all aspects of the game.
“The entire team benefitted from the confidence that we showed in the game,” said Osterberger. “When all three phases are playing well we can compete with anyone.”
The defense for Loras showed one of their most complete performances of the season only allowing the Rams to gain 262 yards, but more importantly forcing four fumbles, three for turnovers, and intercepting two passes.
“Our defense also played well and created a lot of turnovers,” said Labuz. “As an offense we certainly expected to have a good game, the defense, they gave us a lot of opportunities to make plays and we played well and did not make too many mistakes.”
The offense scored four touchdowns off turnovers, two fumbles and on two turnovers on downs, which ultimately gave Cornell their ninth loss on the season.
The day ended up being important to Labuz, who would have a total of 7 catches for 99 yards while collecting his first touchdown of the season, in front of the many fans that made it to the Rock Bowl in a different way during the family weekend events.
“A lot of my family wanted to come see me play so they got a bus and came up to watch the game,” said Labuz. “It was nice to have a big game and help our team win and it was fun having a lot of my family there to watch.”
Loras, now 4-5, looks to finish their season on a good note at the Rock Bowl against Luther College, 5-4, as the seniors on the team will be recognized when they step on the field for their final collegiate game.