Pride struggle to find rhythm in season opening 24-9 loss

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Clarke University Pride football program suffered a 24-9 season-opening loss to Evangel University on Saturday afternoon at Dalzell Field.

The Pride (0-1) fell behind early after Evangel (1-0) took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown, capped by a one-yard rush by Nicos Oropeza.

One quarter later, Evangel's Dyllan Decker found Dillon Hester on a 24-yard strike to go up 14-0 with 9:46 to play in the half.

Clarke responded with a seven play, 25-yard drive that ended up in a 33-yard field goal by Anthony Gomez, the first of his career.

Evangel went on to score it's third and final touchdown by way of a second pitch-and-catch between Hester and Decker, a one-yard toss to go up 21-3.

Clarke junior quarterback Brandon Mueller then led the Pride on a 59-yard touchdown drive just before halftime, narrowing the deficit to 21-10 after a 35-yard pass to Max Steffen near the back of the endzone.

While Clarke would fail to find the endzone the rest of the afternoon, the Pride's defense would go on to hold Evangel to just three points and less than 100 yards of total offense in the second half.

Losing the turnover battle, 3-1, contributed to the inability for Clarke's offense to generate some momentum and sustain long drives. In all, Clarke's offense generated 251 yards of total offense.

Muller finished 6-of-13 for 85 yards and a touchdown. He led two scoring drives and made some impressive plays with his feet, highlighted with a 26-yard scramble in the first quarter. Running back Craig Elmore carried the ball 19 times for 81 yards in his first action as a member of the team.

Kenyon Williams, who replaced Muller in the second half, went on to complete 4-of-5 passes for 40 yards, marks that stand as career-highs for the sophomore.

Clarke will shift focus and hit the road to take on Missouri Valley College on Sept. 4. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.