Football vs Univ of Chicago 9/21/24
Knox College
Jayvon Bolds set a program record with 229 kickoff return yards.
77
Winner Illinois Col. ILL 4-2 , 3-2
34
Knox KNX 2-4 , 1-4
Winner
Illinois Col. ILL
4-2 , 3-2
77
Final
34
Knox KNX
2-4 , 1-4
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ILL Illinois Col. 21 28 14 14 77
KNX Knox 0 7 7 20 34

Game Recap: Football |

Knox Can’t Slow Illinois College in 77-34 Defeat

Taylor McAdams ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns for the Prairie Fire

GALESBURG, Ill. ­— Although Knox scored a season-high 34 points, visiting Illinois College put the pedal down from the opening kick and never let its foot off the gas in sending the Prairie Fire to a 77-34 defeat on Saturday afternoon at Stisser Field at the Knosher Bowl. The Blueboys (4-2, 3-2 Midwest Conference) threw for 401 yards and eight touchdowns to more than offset the 322 rushing yards for Knox (2-4, 1-4 MWC).

Illinois College ended the first quarter with a 21-0 lead on a 12-yard scoring strike, a two-yard burst into the end zone and a 55-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown on the final play. The Prairie Fire finally supplied a counterpunch early in the second quarter when sophomore running back Taylor McAdams slipped through a hole in the middle of the line and sprinted 52 yards for a touchdown.

But the Blueboy passing attack was relentless, throwing four more touchdown tosses before halftime. The last one was a 45-yarder one play after an interception with 25 seconds on the clock, giving Illinois College a 49-7 lead at the break.

Knox started the second half with a drive that lasted more than six minutes and covered 67 yards, culminating on a 3-yard touchdown run by first-year quarterback Clay McClelland, making the first start and appearance for the Prairie Fire.

In the fourth quarter, Knox got touchdown runs of 9 yards (sophomore Aiden Frail), 75 yards (McAdams) and 1 yard (Izayiah Hawes), but the Blueboys continued its air raid and ended the day posting more points against the Prairie Fire than any team had ever scored.

  • McAdams ran wild for Knox, amassing a career-high 203 rushing yards — the 18th time a Prairie Fire rusher has topped 200 yards — and two touchdowns on just 17 carries.
  • The rookie QB McClelland finished the day with 77 yards on the ground on 28 carries while completing 6-of-9 passes for 106 yards (the Prairie Fire's first game this season with at least 100 yards through the air), but also suffering two interceptions and three sacks.
  • Illinois College also had 238 rushing yards on 32 carries (7.4 average) for 639 total yards, one year after piling up 756 yards against the Knox defense.
  • First-year Jayvon Bolds returned nine kickoffs for 257 yards, shattering the previous program record of 225.

Next weekend is homecoming weekend for Knox College, and the Prairie Fire will host Grinnell (1-5, 1-4 MWC) with kickoff set for 1 p.m. on Oct. 26. Live video and stats will be available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official athletics website of Knox College.

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