DUBUQUE - Dubuque Senior scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters and held on to defeat Kennedy, 21-14, in Mississippi Valley Conference football Friday night in Dubuque.

The loss dropped the Cougars to 0-4 for the campaign.

Senior (4-0, 2-0) scored on 5- and 1-yard runs by Parker Hammel to take a 14-0 lead in the first half. And on its first possession in the second half, the Rams executed a snappy 72-yard scoring drive
that culminated in a 7-yard touchdown pass from Austin Clemens to Andrew Conzett.

“They were more physical and emotional than we were,” said Kennedy Coach Tim Lewis. “We need to become more aggressive and more assertive when we play.”

Following Senior’s third score, Donovan Kosman of Kennedy uncorked his second 50-yard kickoff return of the night to the Dubuque 38-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Alex Hillyer took the handoff and went through the line untouched for a 38-yard touchdown scamper.

Hillyer finished the night with 21 carries and 86 yards.

“It was a pre-read and when I got to the line it just opened up,” he said. “The line did a great job of clearing it out and nobody was there.”

The Cougars (0-4, 0-2) put their second score on the board with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Riley Fergus to Pat Martin. Eric Bertroche’s second extra point of the night made it 21-14 and that is the way it finished up.

“It was a slant route and Riley made a perfect throw and I caught it,” said Martin. “I just moved here from Chicago and didn’t play football, but the guys talked me into going out and this is pretty exciting.”

“I was getting pressure on my right side, so I stepped up in the pocket and Pat was there to make the catch,” said Fergus. “They brought a lot of guys all night and we had to continually read that.”

Fergus completed 8 of 17 passes for 89 yards and one interception. Dubuque quarterback Clemens completed 18 of 25 for 213 yards.

“We knew that their quarterback was a good player, that didn’t surprise us,” said Lewis. “We just didn’t seem to make the key plays on either side of the ball tonight. It won’t get any easier next week.”

Kennedy plays undefeated Xavier in the battle for 42nd Street next Friday night at Xavier.

DUBUQUE SENIOR 21, KENNEDY 14 CRK        DS

First Downs              7          11
Rushing                     31-105     41-85
Passing yards         89         223
Fumbles/Lost             1/1        1/0

Kennedy                0   0   7   7 -  14
Dubuque Senior     7   7   7   0 -  21

DS - Parker Hammel 5 yard run (Ben Martin kick)
DS - Parker Hammel 1 yard run (Martin kick)
DS - Austin Clemens 7 yard pass to Andrew Conzett (Martin kick)
CRK - Alex Hillyer 38 yard run (Eric Bertroche kick)
CRK - Riley Ferus 25 yard pass to Pat Martin (Bertroche kick)

Rushing
Kennedy: Hillyer 21-86, Fergus 9-16, Boomershine 1-3
Dubuque Senior: Hammel 25-79, Williams 8-10, Clemens 8-minus 4

Passing
Kennedy: Fergus 8-17, 89
Dubuque Senior: Clemens 18-25, 223

Receiving
Kennedy: Pins 1-25, Smetzer 1-7, Johnson 2-23, Tschopp 1-0, Frazier-Flores 1-3, Martin 1-25, Kollie 1-6
Dubuque Senior: Richie 6-41, Jensen 1-9, Gallery 5-109, Wilbricht 2-23, Lembke 1-18, Hammel 1-5, Williams 1-10, Conzett 1-7