NORTHFIELD, Minnesota – A rough first quarter was costly for the Prairie Fire in a 40-14 loss at Carleton College on Saturday.

Knox and Carleton met for the first time on the football field since the 1982 season, a game won by the Knights at home.  Carleton extended its winning streak in the all-time series to four with the non-conference victory.

The Knights (1-1) put the Prairie Fire in a hole early by scoring 21 points in the opening stanza, 10 of them off of turnovers.

Carleton scored on its first possession with an 11-yard run about 3:30 into the game to cap an eight play, 51 yard drive.  A successful two-point conversion gave the hosts an 8-0 lead.

Knox punted the ball away after failing to gain a first down on its first offensive series.  The next two Prairie Fire possessions ended in interceptions thrown by first-year quarterback Matt Mc Caffrey (Wilmette, IL, New Trier).

Carleton turned the first Prairie Fire miscue into a 23-yard field goal to extend its lead to 11-0 with 6:11 left in the first quarter.  The Knights got loose for a 23-yard touchdown run after picking off the second pass that pushed the lead to 18-0 with just under four minutes to go in the opening stanza.

Carleton added a 25-yard field goal at the 1:21 mark of the first quarter for a 21-0 advantage, and a 5-yard run into the end zone with 9:05 to play in the second quarter built the lead to 28-0 at halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Knox opened the fourth frame with a 15-yard pass from Mc Caffrey to junior Mathew Hemmingsen (Galesburg, IL, Carl Sandburg College) for a touchdown.  First-year Drake Sykes (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) converted the extra point to trim the deficit to 28-7.

The Knights tacked on two points with a safety when Mc Caffrey was sacked in the end zone with 11:35 to go.  A 42-yard field goal less than two minutes later stretched the lead by the Knights to 33-7.

Mc Caffrey connected with junior Ilir Emini (Yorkville, IL, Yorkville) for a 24-yard touchdown, and the extra point by Sykes made it a 33-14 game with 8:28 remaining.

Carleton scored the final points of the game on a 50-yard touchdown run on the first play of the next series.

The Knights outgained the Prairie Fire 363 to 207 yards overall and 212 to 78 on the ground.

Knox didn't turn the ball over again after the first quarter.  Carleton also committed two turnovers – a pass that was picked off by junior Jared Zanger (Quincy, IL, Quincy) and a fumble that was recovered by sophomore Jacob Paul (Quincy, IL, Quincy).

Mc Caffrey finished 12-of-21 passing for 129 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.  Emini led the Prairie Fire receiving corps with seven receptions and 89 yards.  First-year Terry White (Hillsdale, IL, Riverdale) led the ground game with 68 yards rushing.

Senior Will Ruzicka (St. Louis, MO, St. Mary's) paced the defense with 10 tackles.  Sophomore Brock Gabel (Bourbonnais, IL, Bishop McNamara), playing his first game of the season for Knox, recorded seven tackles – including one for a loss.

The Prairie Fire return home to host Lawrence University on September 27 at 1:00 p.m.