The Prairie Fire defense forced four turnovers but the offense couldn't turn those extra opportunities into enough points as Washington University (MO) scored a 28-10 win Saturday at the Knosher Bowl in the season opener for both squads.
The Fire recovered a pair of fumbles in the first quarter while Wash U. forced a turnover of its own in the first quarter. The teams played to a scoreless draw after the first 15 minutes of action.
The Bears capped off a six-play, 15-yard drive following a Knox turnover when John Hagemann scored on a 1-yard run. The extra point kick by Eric Chalifour gave WU a 7-0 lead with 14:14 to play in the first half.
Wash U (1-0) added its second TD of the second half when quarterback Dan Burkett connected with Phill Stocker for a 5-yard TD at the 6:13 mark of the second quarter that put the wraps on a 10-play, 85-yard drive and extended the Bears' lead to 14-0.
Knox (0-2) drove into the Wash U. red zone during its final possession of the first half. The 15-play, 75-yard drive resulted in points when junior Doug Lillibridge (Byron, Illinois) connected on a 22-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the first half to make it a 14-3 game.
Wash U essentially put the game away in the third quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points. Stocker caught his second and third touchdowns of the game. Starting QB Dan Burkett hit Stocker with a 3-yard scoring pass at the 10:38 mark for a 21-3 lead. Stocker then caught another 3-yard pass for a score from back-up quarterback Adam Banks with eight seconds in the quarter for a 28-3 advantage.
The Prairie Fire found the end zone when sophomore quarterback Drew Diaz (Niles, Illinois) found senior wide receiver Clarke Cuthbert (Oak Park, Illinois) for a 24-yard touchdown that wound up being the only points scored in the fourth quarter.
Wash U. fumbled five times and lost four of them. Knox committed five turnovers: three interceptions and two fumbles.
The Bears outgained the Fire 386-220. WU had 242 yards on the ground compared to 104 for Knox. Sophomore Derek Mortensen (Crystal Lake, Illinois) had 17 carries for 59 yards. Diaz completed 12-of-26 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown. Cuthbert caught three passes for 53 yards.
Defensively, Knox junior linebacker Mike Hendrick (Smithton, Illinois) was all over the place. He led everyone with 18 tackles -- six solos and 12 assisted stops. The 18 tackles rank Hendrick in a tie for 7th all-time at Knox with two other players. His 12 assisted tackles tie him for the 10th most all-time with six other players.
The Prairie Fire tries to regroup September 10 at 1:00 p.m. at the Knosher Bowl against Lawrence University (0-1). The game marks the Midwest Conference opener for both schools and the second football promotion at the Bowl.
Paint the Bowl Purple Day will be highlighted by a t-shirt giveaway for students. The first 500 students through the gates will receive a t-shirt commemorating the game. All other fans are encouraged to wear purple for the first annual event.
The Vikings dropped their season opener at home to St. Scholastica 34-21 after the teams were tied at 21-21 going into the final quarter.
