DECORAH, Iowa – Luther College scored 20 unanserewed points and made a 25-yard field goal in overtime to earn a 41-38 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan in IIAC football action on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 7) in Decorah, Iowa in a game that had a lightning delay of over an hour.
 
NWU led 38-21 in the 4^th quarter and looked poised to notch their first victory of the season.  However, Luther scored three fourth quarter touchdowns to tie the game and send it to overtime.  After missing the would be game winning field goal to end the game, Cory Wirth converted a 25-yard field goal in overtime to give the Norse the three point advantage.
 
When NWU had possession in the overtime period, an intentional grounding call set the Prairie Wolves back.  That setup a Jackson Hinze field goal to tie the game and send it to a second overtime but the 45-yard attempt was wide right allowing the Norse to earn the homecoming victory.
 
With the game tied at 21-21 after a Luther touchdown, the game was halted due to lightning.  After a long delay, the Prairie Wolves got an interception from Dakota Buss that put them in scoring position.  Jonathan Curti found Derrick Curtis for a 13-yard TD catch to give the Prairie Wolves the 28-21 lead at halftime.
 
In the third quarter, the Prairie Wolves extended their lead to 17 points.  Jackson Hinze made a 36-yard field goal to make the score 31-21.  The combination of Curti to Curtis then struck again as they hooked up on a 8-yard touchdown reception to cap a 95-yard drive and put the Prairie Wolves up 38-21.
 
A big kickoff return setup the Norse to respond on a 2-play scoring drive as Travis Vargas got a 16-yard TD run to cut the lead to ten points.  A NWU fumble gave the Norse prime field position and Wirth converted a 38-yard field goal to make it a one score gam.
 
After forcing NWU to punt, the Norse took over on their own 10-yard line.  A 58-yard touchdown run from Ouazzani tied the game at 38-38 with just under four minutes to play.  NWU was forced to punt giving Luther the ball with 2:10 left in the game.  A pass interference call put the Norse into NWU territory in the final seconds.  Cory Wirth missed the game-winning field goal attempt from 40 yards out to send the game to overtime.
 
It was a high scoring affair to start the game as Nebraska Wesleyan scored on their opening possession.  Shaka Taylor had a 3-yard TD run to begin the scoring. Luther responded with a 64-yard run from quarterback Brady Letney to tie the game.  On their next drive, NWU scored again as Caleb Conway caught a 9-yard TD pass from Jonathan Curti to put the Prairie Wolves up by a score.
 
Luther scored when they got the ball back to tie game at 14-14.  The Nebraska Wesleyan offense kept their momentum going scoring on all three possessions to start the game.  This time, Taylor caught a 6-yard pass from Curti.  The Norse responded as Letney scored his third TD of the game with 2:36 remaining in the half.  That is when the game was put in a weather delay.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan finished the game with 484 yards of total offense, compared to 392 for Luther.  Jonathan Curti had a huge game going 26-37 for 352 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.  Bryce Darner caught eight passes for 165 yards, while Derrick Curtis had four catches for 55 yards with two touchdowns.
 
Shaka Taylor ran for a career-high 152 yards on 27 carries and caught six passes for 51 yards scoring two touchdowns.  Taylor has gone over 100 yards in all five games this season.
 
Luther ran for 306 yards led by quarterback Brady Letney with 118 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.  He was 6-14 for 86 yards through the air.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan will look to end their losing streak next Saturday when they host University of Dubuque.