Galesburg, IL – Offense dominated the inaugural Abraham Lincoln Bowl, won by Eureka College 62-55 against Knox College on Saturday at the Knosher Bowl.

The Prairie Fire (0-1) led 55-45 with 9:37 to play in the game, but the Red Devils (1-0) scored the final 17 points to come away with the win and the traveling Lincoln Trophy.  The Eureka defense, which gave up touchdowns on eight of the first nine Knox possessions, held the Prairie Fire scoreless the last four times the hosts had the football in the fourth quarter.

Eureka quarterback Sam Durley set a new NCAA record with 736 yards passing, breaking the previous mark of 731 by Zamir Amin of NCAA Division III Menlo College in 2000.  Durley also threw five touchdown passes as the Red Devils racked up 821 total yards of offense.  The Prairie Fire had 469 total yards, including 279 on the ground.

The teams combined for 60 first downs, 1290 yards of offense, 1053 yards on kickoffs, and 16 touchdowns.

Senior Mike Schroeder (Glenview, IL, Glenbrook South) had a big day for Knox.  He ran a kickoff back 79 yards for a touchdown with 29 seconds remaining in the first half to give the Fire a 34-28 lead at the intermission.  Schroeder finished with school records of nine kicks returned for 225 yards, and a total of 232 all-purpose yards.

A field goal with 12:03 to go in the third quarter closed the gap for Eureka to 34-31.  Knox followed with a 44-yard touchdown run by junior Cort Scheel (Wilmington, IL, University of Dubuque) that gave the Prairie Fire its biggest lead of the game at 41-31 at the 10:10 mark of the third quarter.

The Red Devils responded about three minutes later with a one yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 41-38.  Junior Dustin Armstrong (Cincinnati, OH, Country Day) hauled in a 69-yard touchdown reception with 6:37 left in the third quarter as Knox reclaimed the 10 point lead at 48-38.

A similar scenario occurred toward the end of the third frame and early in the fourth quarter.

Eureka made it 48-45 on a short touchdown run with 3:01 in the third and Knox answered with a touchdown run from one yard by junior Derek Mortensen (Crystal Lake, IL, Crystal Lake South), his third of the day, with 12:43 to play for a 55-45 lead.

Eureka’s defense shut the Prairie Fire out the rest of the way while the Red Devil offense added two passing touchdowns and a field goal to come from behind and claim the victory.  The winning score, from Durley to receiver Jake Bane from 13 yards out, happened with just 20 seconds to play in the game.  The play also gave Durley the new NCAA record for passing yardage in a game.

The Prairie Fire led 14-7 after the first quarter.  Eureka held a 21-20 edge in the second quarter, a 17-14 advantage in the third, and outscored Knox 17-7 over the final 15:00 of play.

Two Eureka wide outs, Bane – who had three TDs, and Jordan Kindred, each had over 200 yards receiving.  Red Devil running back Zach McCoy rushed for 88 yards and three scores.

Mortensen had a career-high 140 yards rushing on 32 carries.  Scheel added 70 yards and junior quarterback Drew Diaz (Niles, IL, Niles Notre Dame) ran for 68 yards and a touchdown – the first of the game.  Also scoring on the ground for the Prairie Fire was first-year quarterback Luke Oosterbaan (Palos Heights, IL, Marist) at the 12:12 mark of the second quarter.

Diaz also threw for 169 yards and a touchdown.  Armstrong led the Knox receivers with five catches and 116 yards.

Senior linebacker Mike Hendrick (Smithton, IL, Freeburg) paced the Prairie FIre defense with 12 tackles and one sack.  Knox sacked Durley four times on the afternoon. 

The win is Eureka’s second straight against the Fire and first in Galesburg since the 1991 season.  Knox still holds a 16-6-1 edge in the all-time series as the teams play the Lincoln Bowl next season at Eureka.

The Prairie Fire opens the 2012 Midwest Conference season on the road September 8 against St. Norbert College (0-1) at 1:00 p.m.  The game will be videostreamed live at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/snc.portal#

Live stats of the contest will be available at http://www.snc.edu/athletics/teamfiles/livestats/xlive.htm

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