Lake Forest, IL – Lake Forest College scored four touchdowns in the second half to come from behind and defeat the Prairie Fire 34-13 in Midwest Conference play on Saturday afternoon.

In the loss was a record-setting performance by Knox senior Mike Schroeder (Glenview, IL, Glenbrook South).  He now has the most career kickoff return yards in the history of the football program.  Schroeder finished the game with 124 kick return yards, giving him 1,527 in his career.  That breaks the previous record of 1,526 held by Neil Magruder between 2002 and 2005.

Lake Forest broke the ice when Al Mitchell scored on a 1-yard run at the 7:18 mark of the first quarter for a 6-0 lead.  The kick for the extra point failed.

Knox (0-4, 0-3 MWC) grabbed a 7-6 lead less than a minute into the second quarter on a 21-yard touchdown pass from first-year quarterback Luke Oosterbaan (Palos Heights, IL, Marist) to junior tight end Neal Moon (Kahoka, MO, Clark County R-1).  Junior Phil Tallman (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) knocked home the extra point kick for the Prairie Fire to cap a 14-play, 72-yard drive that ate up nearly eight minutes of the clock.

Knox increased the lead to 13-6 on a 15-yard pass from Oosterbaan to first-year wide out Ilir Emini (Yorkville, IL, Yorkville) with 5:03 to play in the first half.

Lake Forest (3-1, 3-0 MWC) did not allow another point the rest of the game while putting up 28 over the final 30 minutes of play.

Mitchell tied the contest at 13-13 on a 20-yard pass reception from LFC quarterback Pete Scaffidi with 13:15 left in the third quarter.

Mitchell raced 12 yards into the end zone half-way through the quarter, his third touchdown of the game, to put Lake Forest on top 20-13.

The Prairie Fire moved the football to the Foresters' 27 yard line on the next possession, but a pass by Oosterbaan was picked off by Ed Dobernig with 4:59 to go in the third period.

Lake Forest capitalized with an 11-play, 82-yard drive that chewed up almost 6:00 and resulted in a 35-yard passing touchdown from Scaffidi to Austin Sobey and a 27-13 lead.

The hosts scored the final time with 4:04 in the game on an 11-yard run by Alec Howe.

Knox had 209 passing yards, with Oosterbaan completing 18-of-34 attempts for 194 yards.  Junior Dustin Armstrong (Cincinnati, OH, Country Day) led the Prairie Fire receivers with nine catches and 114 yards.  Emini had five receptions for 48 yards.  Junior Derek Mortensen (Crystal Lake, IL, Crystal Lake South) led the Prairie Fire run game with 18 carries and 66 yards.

Scaffidi completed 22 passes for 271 yards.  Sobey had 103 yards receiving while Mitchell – who rushed for 75 yards – added 56.

Besides setting the record for most career kickoff return yards, Schroeder had an interception for the Prairie Fire on defense and made eight tackles.

Senior linebacker Mike Hendrick (Smithton, IL, Freeburg) had a game-high 16 tackles for Knox, including two for a loss.

Knox visits Ripon College on September 29 at 1:00.  The Red Hawks (0-4, 0-3 MWC) are also still seeking their first win of the season after losing 46-21 at Illinois College.

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