Rich Palzewic
Contributing Writer
DE PERE – The Aurora University football team showed why it’s ranked nationally.
The Spartans came into the contest ranked No. 16 in the latest D3football.com Top 25 Poll and
No. 12 in the AFCA Division III Coaches Poll.
Behind a potent offense and suffocating defense, Aurora thoroughly dominated St. Norbert
College in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) game at Schneider Stadium in De
Pere on Oct. 14, 37-9.
The Homecoming game was played in winds of 20-30 mph.
The Green Knights (4-3 overall, 3-2 NACC) didn’t help themselves by committing four turnovers.
“We played a great team – one that’s on track to win our conference championship,” St.
Norbert Coach Dan McCarty said. “It’s a team loaded with fourth- and fifth-year seniors. They
are a veteran team, and you can’t make mistakes against veteran teams.”
The Spartans (6-0, 4-0) came into the game averaging 61.4 points and 523.8 yards of offense
per game.
This included a 91-0 throttling of Concordia Chicago on Oct. 7.
Aurora jumped out to a 35-6 lead at the break before the Green Knights pitched a shutout
defensively in the second half.
The Spartans got their only points after intermission when St. Norbert quarterback Peyton Lyon
was called for intentional grounding while in the end zone, which resulted in a safety.
“We turned the ball over three times in the first half and had blown coverages defensively in
the secondary,” McCarty said. “When you lock down like we did in the second half and guys
know what they’re doing, good things happen. It was good to see our defense respond.”
Aurora scored four minutes into the game after an early St. Norbert punt.
The Green Knights put together a nine-play, 75-yard drive on their next possession, which
culminated with an Owen Kudick 31-yard touchdown run.
St. Norbert trailed 7-6 after Dalton Moyse’s extra point attempt was blocked.
After Aurora quarterback Ian Luyando threw a pair of TD passes to Ty Pruett, the Spartans led
21-6 five minutes into the second quarter.
The Green Knights’ defense then forced a turnover on downs halfway through the second
quarter near midfield.
Working its way deep inside Aurora territory, Lyon’s second-down pass was intercepted at the
eight-yard line.
Four plays later, Luyanda connected on a 72-yard TD pass to Trey Madsen to make it 28-6 after
the extra point.
With less than two minutes remaining before halftime, St. Nobert’s next drive ended with a
fumble deep in its own territory.
Aurora was back in the end zone 45 seconds later to end the first-half scoring.
Moyse’s 35-yard field goal late in the game provided the final margin.
Though Aurora is maybe best known for its explosive offense, McCarty said the defense is no
slouch, either.
“It’s one of the best defenses we’ve faced since I’ve been here,” he said.
The Spartans outgained St. Nobert in total offense, 478-232.
Kudick rushed for 82 yards on 13 carries, while Lyon completed 10 of 30 passes (33.3%) for 113
yards.
Mitch Van Vooren nabbed four passes for 64 yards
For Aurora, Jhe’Quay Chretin had 130 yards rushing on 29 attempts.
Luyando completed 18 of 34 passes (52.9%) for 243 yards with three touchdowns.
Sam Barnett had 14 tackles and an interception for the Green Knights.
St. Norbert returns to NACC action on Oct. 21 with a road game at Concordia Wisconsin (5-1, 4-
0).