DECORAH, Iowa – The Luther football team is now 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the Midwest Conference after beating Illinois College 27-26 on homecoming weekend. This is the first time since 2017 that Luther has gone 4-1 to start the season.
Sean Medcalfe hit the game winning 54-yard field goal with 1:09 remaining for longest field goal in program history. The Norse scored 13 points unanswered points in the fourth quarter. It was the first ever meeting between the two teams.
The Blue Boys were on the board first after an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cole Stuart to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
A fumble recovery at 14:04 in the second quarter, put Luther in good field position on the 38-yard line of Illinois College.
CJ Walker to find
Liam Henry for the five-yard touchdown pass. The extra point the Norse tied the game at 7-7. A little later, Luther took their first lead of the game on a 12-yard touchdown catch by
Bryce Buckley (14-7) in eight plays for 85 yards.
Illinois College responded with a one-yard touchdown run by Skyler Young but did not convert the extra point after to pull within one (14-13) with 2:10 remaining before halftime. On the next possession the Norse fumbled the ball which was recovered by the Blue Boys on the Luther 17-yard line. The Blue Boys took advantage of the short field position scoring on a 11-yard touchdown run by Young. Illinois College went for two points but the Luther defense stopped the quarterback in his tracks. The Norse trailed at halftime 19-14.
The Blue Boys received the kick in the second half marching down the field in six plays for 65 yards to extend their lead to 26-14.
In the final frame, Luther scored 13 unanswered points which started with a rushing touchdown for
Caleb Songstad. It marked his first touchdown run of the season to pull back within five (21-26) at 14:50.
Later, a 28-yard field goal from Medcalfe made the game a on possession game with 4:24 to go. The Norse defense forced the Blue Boys to go three and out. The start of the Luther drive began at 2:52. On a fourth-and-one
Brett Liljedahl connected with
Anthony Thornton to get just enough yardage to keep the drive alive. The Illinois College defense held strong forcing the field goal unit to come out. On fourth-and-13 on the 37-yard line of the Blue Boys Medcalfe hit a 54-yard field goal which energized the home crowd. He now surpasses his own school record of 51-yards for the longest kick in school history to take a 27-26 lead with 1:09 left on the clock.
With the time remaining, Illinois College started one final drive. With 37 seconds remaining the Blue Boys took a time out on fourth-and-two at their own 46-yard line. The home crowd was on their feet as the short pass ended up being incomplete. Luther took the field for victory formation and won the game 27-26.
The Blue Boys finished with 408 yards, including 286 passing. The Norse recorded 305 yards of offense which included 174 rushing yards.
CJ Walker was 11-for-18 passing for 93 yards with two touchdowns. Medcalfe had four punts for 189 yards which included a 70-yard punt and he was 2-2 on field goals and 3-3 on PATs.
Danny Millner and
Conor Baesemann had an interception each.
Jacob Olerud led the team with 10 tackles.
Tyler Ragan moved into third all-time for career assisted tackles at 191 surpassing Trent Kerrigan (2009-12) who had 187 in his career.
Up next, Luther travels to Monmouth College on Saturday, Oct. 10. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. in Monmouth, Ill.
