Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire football team got what it needed the most: a win.

Knox, after leading by 15 points with about 10:00 to play in the game, held off a rally by Beloit College and won 35-33 on Saturday at the Knosher Bowl.  The victory snapped a 19-game slide.

The Prairie Fire (1-5, 1-4 MWC) took the biggest lead of the game at 35-20 on a 16-yard touchdown run by junior Cort Scheel (Wilmington, IL, University of Dubuque) with 9:59 to play.  The Buccaneers (0-6, 0-5 MWC) responded with 13 straight points on a 23-yard pass from Will Coyne to Nathan Brault at the 9:40 mark and a 12-yard pass from Coyne to Dillon Hess with 4:30 remaining to close the gap to 35-33.  Trying to tie with a two-point conversion, Coyne's pass fell incomplete and Knox hung on.

Beloit led 3-0 on a 33-yard field goal by Matias Grande with 10:44 in the first quarter.  The Prairie Fire took its first lead of the game on an 18-yard pass reception by junior Neal Moon (Kahoka, MO, Clark County R-1) from first-year Luke Oosterbaan (Palos Heights, IL, Marist).  The Bucs reclaimed the advantage at 10-7 on a 2-yard pass from Coyne to Luke Versulien just 48 seconds into the second quarter.  The turning point, however, was an interception by Knox senior Jonas Mack (Algonquin, IL, Cary-Grove) that he returned five yards for a touchdown to give the hosts a 14-10 lead with 12:00 in the first half.

While Beloit would get close, Knox never trailed again.

Grande kicked his second field goal of the game, a 37-yard boot, with 7:02 in the second quarter to get his team within 14-13.

The Prairie Fire extended the lead to 21-13 on a 15-yard reception for a touchdown by junior Dustin Armstrong (Cincinnati, OH, Country Day) from Oosterbaan with 4:35 before the break.  Coyne again made it a one point game when he scored on a 7-yard run to cap a 12-play, 65-yard drive with 23 seconds remaining in the opening half.  Knox led 21-20 at the intermission.

The only score in the third quarter was at 11:32 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Oosterbaan to Moon -- the second time he found the end zone -- to make it 28-20.

Beloit dominated the time of possession 36:52 to 23:02 and outgained Knox in total yards 410 to 272.  The Prairie Fire did most of its work on the ground, rushing for 172 yards while the Bucs passed for 271.

Oosterbaan completed 9-of-14 passes for 100 yards and three touchdowns.  Coyne was 23-of-33 passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions.  Sophomore Chaz Benton had the other pick for Knox.

Armstrong caught three passes for 44 yards and Moon had two receptions for 26 for the Fire.  Hess had six catches for 67 yards and Grande five grabs for 60 yards to lead the Buccaneers.

The leading rusher in the game was Derek Mortensen (Crystal Lake, IL, Crystal Lake South), who had 22 carries and 123 yards for the Prairie Fire.  Zach Draus led Beloit with 15 carries and 42 yards.

Senior Mike Hendrick (Smithton, IL, Freeburg) led everyone with 15 tackles.  Junior Tom Discher (Woodstock, IL, Woodstock) added 12, including 1.5 tackles for a loss and a half-sack.  Senior Mike Schroeder (Glenview, IL, Glenbrook South) and Mack also reached double-figures with 10 tackles apiece.

Images from the game are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/knoxcollege/sets/72157631707890941/with/8060926336/.

Knox looks to make it two straight wins when the team plays on October 13 at Cornell College.  The Rams (2-3, 2-2 MWC) lost 20-16 to St. Norbert College at home on Saturday.  The game will be streamed live beginning at 12:45 p.m. at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/midwest.portal#

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