Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire couldn’t hand Carroll University its first loss of the season on Saturday at the Knosher Bowl.

The Pioneers (3-0, 2-0 MWC) defeated Knox 48-6 for their ninth straight victory against the Prairie Fire (0-3, 0-2 MWC).  Knox last beat Carroll in September of 2003, 28-7 in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

The Pioneers got on the scoreboard first with 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by quarterback Justin Butterfield.  The touchdown capped a 15-play, 97-yard drive for a 6-0 lead after an unsuccessful extra point attempt.

Carroll, after forcing Knox to punt again on its second possession, found the end zone with 13:02 to go in the first half on a 36-yard pass from Butterfield to Tyler Ostrander.  The extra point gave the visitors a 13-0 lead.

The Prairie Fire followed with an 8-play, 59-yard drive that resulted in an 18-yard touchdown pass from junior Drew Diaz (Niles, IL, Niles Notre Dame) to first-year receiver Ilir Emini (Yorkville, IL, Yorkville) at the 8:56 mark of the second quarter.  The extra point attempt by junior Phil Tallman (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) was blocked by Carroll, which maintained a 13-6 lead.

The Pioneers added a pair of rushing touchdowns, one a 5-yard run by Casey Legan at 2:57 and the other an 11-yard run by Lamont Williams just 46 seconds later, to increase the advantage to 27-6 going into halftime.

Carroll held Knox scoreless in the second half while adding two passing touchdowns in the third quarter by Butterfield.  He connected with Ostrander from 33-yards with 10:38 remaining and Daniel Meyer from 1-yard out with 6:23 to go.

The Pioneers closed out the scoring when Williams ran in a 20-yard touchdown with 5:19 left in the contest.

Carroll entered the game with the top ranked scoring and passing defense in the Midwest Conference and held the Prairie Fire to 87 passing yards while picking off three passes.  Knox rushed for 132 yards and tallied 219 yards of offense.

The Pioneers had 494 yards of offense -- 312 passing and 182 on the ground.

Junior Derek Mortensen (Crystal Lake, IL, Crystal Lake South) eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the second time this season.  He had 22 carries for 112 yards.  Junior tight end Neal Moon (Kahoka, MO, Clark County R-1) led the Prairie Fire receivers with 37 yards and Emini was next with 33.

Butterfield was 20-for-31 passing for 291 yards and three touchdowns.  Ostrander led the Carroll receiving corps with nine catches and 198 yards.  Williams was the top rusher for the Pioneers with 94 yards.

Defensively, senior linebacker Mike Hendrick (Smithton, IL, Freeburg) had a game-high 10 tackles, including one for a loss, and one sack.  Senior defensive lineman Lloyd Scott (Chicago, IL, Mount Carmel) had a big game with five tackles, three for a loss, one sack and two pass break-ups.

The Prairie Fire is on the road for the next two games, beginning with a trip to Lake Forest College at 1:00 p.m. on September 22. 

The Foresters (2-1, 2-0 MWC) won 33-7 at Grinnell College on Saturday for their second straight victory.

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