The first half of Dan Bauder's debut as Wartburg College's starting quarterback was largely forgettable Saturday night against Monmouth.

Bauder threw an interception on his first pass attempt of the game. There was 10 incomplete passes in his first 13 throws. And over the first 30 minutes, the Wartburg offense mustered merely three points with the sophomore at the helm.

"We talked at halftime about whether we would switch it up, but we felt like he was making good decisions but poor throws," said Wartburg head coach Eric Koehler, who awarded Bauder the starting spot two days before the opener.

Koehler told backup Jake Kuennen, a Denver alum, to get warmed up before the start of the second half. However, Koehler elected to stay with Bauder, a Central Elkader grad.

It turned out to be the right move.

Bauder completed five of his final six passes, including three on third-down situations that led to first downs in Wartburg's 20-0 win. He orchestrated two touchdown drives in the second half that each covered 93 yards.

"I just needed to settle in," Bauder said. "Coach told me at half, 'Those big guys up front are going to protect you, so sit in there and throw it. You're not going to get hit.'"

Bauder finished 8-of-19 for 143 yards and one touchdown. More importantly, his strong showing in the second half most likely will make him the team's starter going into the Iowa Conference opener on Sept. 16 at Simpson.

"The kid is 18, 19 years old and it was his first game," Koehler said. "I think as we saw him settle in, we saw how he could play."

Bauder's confidence was aided by a Wartburg defense that pitched its first shutout in three years.

"That definitely gave me a little sense of security," Bauder said. "I was nervous out there, but I think this game will definitely help me out in the long run."

GO DEEP: Luther's football program scored on its first six possessions and racked up 598 yards of total offense in its 60-0 win at Martin Luther College Saturday. Norse quarterback Zach Sweers averaged nearly 25 yards a completion in his 12 of 15 outing for 294 yards. The 6-foot-6 signal caller had touchdown passes of 58 and 91 yards.

It was the highest single-game point total for Luther in coach Paul Hefty's five seasons.

VAST IMPROVEMENT: The Luther volleyball program, which won just three matches last season, captured two victories over the weekend in its season-opening tournament at the Wisconsin-La Crosse Invitational. Outside hitter Abby Lahr was named to the all-tournament team for Luther.

MILESTONE MARK: Wartburg volleyball standout Ashley Rogers had 54 kills in four matches over the weekend at the Washington (Mo.) Invitational to give her 1,035 for her career. The middle hitter is just the seventh player in Knights history to reach 1,000 kills. Dia Dohlman holds the school's all-time mark with 1,874.

Rogers and the Knights went 1-3 at the weekend tournament, losing a pair of matches to Top 25 programs in fifth-ranked Washington-St. Louis and 21st-rated Wisconsin-Platteville. Wartburg opens its home schedule at 7:30 tonight against Dubuque at Waverly-Shell Rock High School.

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com