Box Score

Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire couldn't hold a slim third quarter lead and fell to Ripon College 37-29 in a Midwest Conference game that featured a new all-time rushing record on Saturday at the Knosher Bowl.

Knox fought back from a 17-7 halftime deficit by scoring touchdowns during its first two possessions of the third quarter for a 21-17 lead.  The Red Hawks responded with 20 unanswered points for a 37-21 advantage before the Prairie Fire added a late touchdown and two-point conversion.

The Prairie Fire (0-5, 0-4 MWC) cut the Ripon lead to 17-14 on a 1-yard run by senior Derek Mortensen (Crystal Lake, IL, Crystal Lake South) and kick for the extra point by senior Phil Tallman (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South) at the 11:00 mark of the third quarter.  Mortensen, who entered the game needing 70 yards to break the football program's career rushing record of 3177 yards held by Kevin Megli (2003-06), accomplished the feat in the third quarter on a carry before he went into the end zone.

Knox took its first lead of the game at 21-17 when sophomore quarterback Luke Oosterbaan (Palos Heights, IL, Marist) tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Ilir Emini (Yorkville, IL, Yorkville) with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Emini had career highs of 11 receptions and 153 yards.  He went over 100 yards receiving for the second time this season.

Ripon (3-2, 2-2 MWC) followed with three straight rushing touchdowns by fullback Connor Greenwald, his last scoring run with 2:38 left in the game, to open up a 16-point cushion.

The Prairie Fire concluded the scoring when senior tight end Neal Moon (Kahoka, MO, Clark County) hauled in a 3-yard touchdown pass from Oosterbaan with 22 seconds on the clock.  Mortensen added a two-point conversion run to account for the final points of the game.

The Red Hawks opened the scoring with a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Eric Langman about 3:30 into the contest.

Knox evened the score at 7-7 on a 1-yard run by Mortensen and an extra point by Tallman with 2:41 in the first quarter.

Ripon reclaimed the lead at 14-7 on a 14-yard run by quarterback Stephen Covalt with 11:13 to go in the second quarter.  The Red Hawks tacked on a 38-yard field goal with three seconds before the break to take a 17-7 advantage into halftime.

Ripon scored 14 points off of fumbles on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter by the Prairie Fire.  The Knox defense forced one turnover, an interception by sophomore defensive back Chris Wozny (Omaha, NE, Millard South) with 13:00 to play.

The Red Hawks, leading the Midwest Conference in rushing yards per game, finished with 425 yards on the ground and 470 yards of total offense.  The Prairie Fire had 339 total yards, a season-high.

Oosterbaan was an efficient 17-of-26 passing for 213 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Prairie Fire.  Mortensen carried the football 32 times for 117 yards and two scores.  Sophomore Jordan Zanger (Quincy, IL, Quincy) contributed 112 all-purpose yards, 92 on kickoffs – including a 34 yard return – and 20 yards receiving.

Senior defensive lineman Steve Bora (Northfield, IL, New Trier) had 11 tackles to lead the Knox defense, followed by senior linebacker Matt Hendrick (Smithton, IL, Freeburg) and junior safety Will Ruzicka (St. Louis, MO, St. Mary's) with 10 apiece.

Photos from this football game and the 2013 season are online at the Knox College Flickr channel

The Prairie Fire play at Beloit College on October 12 at 1:00 p.m.  The Buccaneers (1-4, 1-3 MWC) lost big at Cornell College 58-24 on Saturday.  Knox and Cornell square off on Homecoming, October 19, on Stisser Field at the Knosher Bowl at 1:00 p.m.

The Knox game at Beloit will be streamed live online at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/beloit.portal#

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