INDIANOLA, Iowa - The University of Dubuque football began the afternoon looking to hold on to a tie for the conference lead, but for the second week in a row, UD lost the lead in the final seconds. UD led 46-43 with 1:31 left in the contest with the ball on the Simpson 35 yard line. The Storm used their timeouts and kept moving the ball across into Spartan territory. The Storm scored on a touchdown to the corner of the endzone capping off a six play 65 yard drive in just :58 seconds. The Spartans drive began at the UD 30 yard line with :28 to go in the game. UD moved the ball ball inside the Storm 48 yard line with just :02 left on the clock. As time ran out the Spartans last pass attempt to the endzone was knocked away by a Storm defender, UD lost 46-50 and fell to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the IIAC, Simpson improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the IIAC.
UD's quarterback, Bryan Bradshaw (Sr., QB., 6-2, 175lbs., Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge HS) ended the day by setting a new Iowa Conference record for passing yards in a game with 500. He completed 27-39 passes for 500 yards and four touchdowns which also broke the UD school record held by Shawn Tate in 1996 Vs. Buena Vista with 499 yards. His favorite target was Tyler Rutenbeck who grabbed 11 passses for 235 yards and two touchdowns, his longest catch from 43 yards. Lee Jones went over the century mark for yards after garnering eight catches for 122 yards. On the ground, UD gained 99 yards with Kyle Acker leading the way with 17 rushes for 72 yards for an average of 4.2 yards a carry.
The Spartans led in total yards in the loss with 599 and 29 first downs. The Storm held an advantage in possession time 34:09 to UD's 25:51. The two squads were both perfect in the red zone, UD was 6-6 while the host Storm was 4-4.
The Spartan defense was once again led by Blaine Snitker who finished with 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Oscar White and Trevor Stauner both collected eight tackles as teammates Eric Peterson and William Hudson both dropped the Storm quarterback for two sacks each.
The Spartans will play host to the Loras College Duhawks (1-7 overall, 0-5 in IIAC) on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Chalmers Field for the 2013 Key City Clash. Loras enters the game after a loss to the Central College Dutch by a 3-48 score. Proceeds from the game will be donated to the Opening Doors Maria House - Teresa Shelter in Dubuque.The two institutions believe that this tradition is one way that both of our schools can give back to our community and model the very best of what it means to be faith-based institutions.
Since Dubuque played a key role in the early development of the state, Dubuque is often referred as "The Key City". The winner of the Key City Clash will be able to proudly display the traveling trophy for the following year in their school. One side of the key is painted blue and white to represent the University of Dubuque while the other is painted in purple and gold for Loras College.
One of the city's first permanent settlers was a French-Canadian pioneer, Julien Dubuque. He made money from the area's rich lead deposits. Out of respect for the city's namesake, the Key trophy's lead nameplate will be etched with each year's contest score. UD has owned the "key" since 2011 and have outscored the Duhawks 81-16 during those two years.
Kick-off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.