GRINNELL, Iowa—The Prairie Fire defeated Grinnell on the road for a 26-12 victory.
 
Knox (3-4, 1-2 MWC) broke a three-game losing streak with the win.
 
The Pioneers got on the board in the first quarter with a rush by Carson Dunn; a kick by Graham Fisher failed.
 
The Prairie Fire responded in the second quarter to take a 7-6 lead. Nick Edlund (St. Charles, IL, Aurora Christian) ran it in from the 1-yard line and Wes Koerber (Norco, CA, Norco Senior) converted the kick. A 27-yard completion from Matt McCaffrey (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) to Patrick Marzolino (Orange, CA, El Modena) set up the score.
 
Grinnell answered back on the following drive with a field goal by Fisher to take a 9-7 lead at the 7:55 mark in the second quarter.
 
Not to be outdone, McCaffrey marched Knox down the field completing nine of 12 passes in a 14-play, 75-yard drive. The final pass found an open Mathew Hemmingsen (Galesburg, IL, Carl Sandburg College) in the end zone; Koerber was unable to convert the extra point. Knox held a 13-9 advantage at halftime.
 
The Prairie Fire pulled away in the second half, with McCaffrey hitting Hemmingsen again near the end of the third quarter. Jared Zanger (Quincy, IL, Quincy) followed with a rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Grinnell managed just a field goal with 9:28 left in the game to close out the scoring.
 
Ilir Emini (Yorkville, IL, Yorkville) led all receivers with 11 receptions for 131 yards. Edlund finished with 96 yards on the ground, and McCaffrey completed 24 of 29 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Sam Coffey (Winnetka, IL, New Trier) picked up 12 total tackles, while Brock Gabel (Bourbonnais, IL, Bishop McNamara) added another 10. Cody Hipp (Crown Point, IN, Crown Point) forced a fumble on Grinnell's first drive.
 
Knox will remain on the road next week as they travel to Illinois College on October 31.