ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst University football team dropped its 2022 season-opener, falling 63-0 to 18th-ranked University of Wisconsin-River Falls at Langhorst Field.
 
 Elmhurst (0-1) and UW-River Falls (1-0) were scoreless through the opening half of the first quarter, but the Falcons got on the scoreboard first, taking a 2-0 lead after Isaiah Karels sacked Elmhurst QB Connor Buyck in the end zone for a safety.
 
The Falcons drove 51 yards on their ensuing possession to take an 8-0 lead after a Michael Krueger four-yard touchdown run.
 
The Falcons capped a 59-yard scoring drive early in the second quarter with a one-yard touchdown plunge from Krueger to make the score 15-0. After both teams went three-and-out, the Falcons proceeded to score five more touchdowns over the final 11:30 of the second quarter to take a 47-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
UW-River Falls added 16 points in the final two quarter to make the final score 63-0.

Elmhurst struggled to get rolling on offense, finishing with six first downs and just 79 yards of offense. UW-River Falls ran 107 plays for 560 yards of offense.
 
Julian Cavalo rushed 12 times for 40 yards to pace Elmhurst on the ground. Buyck finished 7-of-19 through the air for 33 yards.
 
Krueger paced the Falcons ground game, rushing eight times for three touchdowns. Kaleb Blaha ran 16 times for 70 yards and attempted while also completing 13-of-23 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.
 
Colton Kraus led the Bluejays' defense, finishing with 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Bryce Gable added nine tackles including eight solo and a sack. J.P. Fitzgerald added nine tackles while Antonio Carillo tallied eight, including 2.5 tackles for loss. Jeremy Inniss broke up three passes and also blocked an extra-point attempt.
 
Elmhurst has next week off before starting CCIW play by hosting Augustana College on Saturday, September 17.