Quarterback Blaine Hawkins guided the Central College football team to the red zone but the Dutch ran out of time in a 31-26 exhibition loss to the Swarco Raiders Tirol, a top Austrian club team Friday night.

Competing with a partial squad before a boisterous Gernot Langes Stadion crowd, the Dutch nearly pulled off the comeback after trailing 31-20 early in the fourth quarter. Central pulled within 31-26 on a TD strike from Hawkins to tight end Ross Norem with 7:03 left. The Dutch defense got a late stop after a big third-down sack, allowing Central to take over at its own 25-yard line with 1:47 left. The experience was a memorable one, according to Head Coach Jeff McMartin, who said his squad enjoyed the game despite the outcome.

“How could you not?” he said. “It’s a beautiful setting in a beautiful city and a beautiful country. We could not have been treated any better by the owner, the general manager, the coaches and the media. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these guys. They’ve all sacrificed a lot to come here and we were going to come here and have a great experience.”

The Dutch leave Innsbruck Saturday morning, traveling through Lichtenstein to Interlaken, Switzerland, spending a couple days in the Swiss Alps before leaving for the U.S. Tuesday.