ST. PAUL, Minnesota – The Prairie Fire were unable to recover from a big first half deficit against Macalester College and suffered a 34-0 loss in the first football game between the two schools in nearly a decade.

The all-time series was tied 1-1 going into Saturday's contest at Macalester Field.  Knox won the last meeting 26-16 at home on October 1, 2005.

Macalester (3-1) prevented the Prairie Fire from winning a second straight game in the series and a second overall this season with a dominant first half.

The Fighting Scots led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and 34-0 at halftime while holding Knox to 30 total yards of offense and two first downs in the opening half.  Neither team scored in the second half.

Knox (2-2) came out strong in the third quarter, stopping Macalester's first offensive drive.  The Prairie Fire got the ball back, and facing a fourth down, ran a fake that first-year Cody Hipp (Crown Point, IN) turned into a first down to keep the drive alive.  Knox marched down the field to the Fighting Scots' 5-yard line, but a fumble gave the football back to Macalester.

The Scots scored touchdowns on their first five possessions to account for the game's scoring.

Knox went three-and-out on its first offensive drive.  Macalester blocked the punt and began its first drive on the Prairie Fire 17 yard line.  The Fighting Scots grabbed a 7-0 lead on a 10-yard touchdown run and a successful kick for the extra point with 12:03 left in the first quarter.

Macalester forced a 19-yard loss on a fourth down play by the Prairie Fire and got the ball back at the Knox 14.  Facing a third down and 15, the Fighting Scots scored on a 19-yard pass play less than four minutes later.  The kick for the extra point extended the Macalester lead to 14-0.

The Fighting Scots added to their lead after intercepting a pass by Prairie Fire first-year quarterback Matt Mc Caffrey (Wilmette, IL) and capping a seven play, 32-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run to go up 21-0 following the PAT with 3:08 remaining in the first period.

Macalester started on its own side of the 50 yard line after another three-and-out and punt by Knox.  The Fighting Scots chewed up 4:34 of clock with a nine-play, 54 yard drive that was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown run at the 11:34 mark of the second quarter. The third consecutive extra point kick by Michael Abramson put Knox in a 28-0 hole.

The Fighting Scots used up 6:25 of the second quarter with a 14-play, 80 yard drive that ended with a 1-yard TD run that resulted in a 34-0 lead.  Macalester went for a two-point conversion but the pass fell incomplete.

The Scots had one more opportunity to put points on the board, but Knox sophomore Brock Gabel (Bourbonnais, IL) blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt by Abramson to close out a rough first half for the Prairie Fire.

The Knox defense played much better in the second half, forcing Macalester to punt the football after each of its six offensive possessions. 

Besides the Prairie Fire fumble at the Macalester 5-yard line early in the third quarter, the next best chance for Knox to score was with just under 6:00 left in the game.

First-year running back Ricardo Morales (Santa Paula, CA) gained 13 yards on the ground and then fumbled the football.  Knox recovered the ball on the Macalester 34 yard line and picked up a first down.  Mac Caffrey then took a shot down the field, but his pass was picked off by the Fighting Scots at their own 4 yard line.  Macalester's Forest Redlin ran the interception back 41 yards.

Neither team threatened to score again in their final two possessions.

The Fighting Scots finished the game with 330 yards of offense compared to 167 for the Prairie Fire.  Macalester rushed for 199 while Knox ran for a season-low 54 yards.  Senior Adam Brooking (Oswego, IL) had eight carries for 28 yards.

Mac Caffrey completed 16-of-32 passes for 112 yards and two interceptions.  Junior Ilir Emini (Yorkville, IL) led the Prairie Fire receivers with six receptions and 43 yards while junior Jared Zanger (Quincy, IL) caught six passes for 42 yards.

Defensively, senior safety Will Ruzicka (St. Louis, MO) led all players with 16 tackles.  Hipp, a linebacker, was next for Knox with a season-best 15.

The Prairie Fire resume play against Lake Forest College in the Homecoming game next Saturday at 2:00 p.m. on Stisser Field at the Knosher Bowl. 

The Foresters (1-3, 0-0 MWC South) have lost three straight games, the latest one a 27-24 overtime loss at Beloit College after winning their season-opener 20-14 at Wisconsin Lutheran College.  The game also marks the first MWC South Division contest for both teams.