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For Immediate Releaseeureka, illinois
September 1, 2007
Red Devils' hard Knox education continues in opening loss
Justin Dempsey (Fairbury, Ill./Chenoa) rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns, but Eureka College (0-1) had two interceptions overturned by penalty en route to a season opening defeat to visiting Knox College (0-1).
In all, 16 flags were tossed in the game for a total of 174 penalty yards. The Red Devils accounted for 10 for 111 yards.
"You're not beating anybody with that many penalties," said Eureka coach Dan Sullivan. "It was just a lack of discipline on our part. The officials did a nice job. Most of the chippy-ness was during play. I'm going to start throwing flags in practice. The players need to get a feel for how penalties affect games"
Both offenses sputtered in their first respective possession of the season, but Knox reached the end zone on both its second and third. Brent Newman drew first blood with a four-yard touchdown plunge, while Prairie Fire quarterback Jake Strain connected with fullback Aaron Willits for a 12 yard scoring strike. Jack Dippold made one out of two extra points leaving Knox ahead 13-0 after the first quarter.
Eureka responded with a nine play, 65 yard touchdown drive capped off by a Dempsey run from five yards out. Red Devil quarterback Nick Lindsey (Homer, Ill./Heritage) called his own number for a key fourth down conversion on the drive. EC was also helped by an encroachment penalty on a third down and five.
The turning point of the contest came only minutes later. Eureka's Drew Whightsil (Vandalia, Ill./HS), who was also the team's leading receiver with two catches for 28 yards, recovered a bad snap on a punt at the Knox five yard line. But, EC suffered losses on its next three plays, thanks in part to two of Knox's six sacks on the day. The Red Devils eventually gave up the ball on downs.
Later in the half, Eureka's Tony Martin (Lexington, Ill./HS) picked off a Strain aerial and provided a nifty return back to the Knox 20, but a Red Devil teammate was flagged for pass interference giving the ball back to Knox. The Prairie Fire continued the drive for 17 plays and nearly eight minutes, but were turned away after a missed field goal. The halftime score remained 13-7.
Eureka had three possessions in the third quarter with a chance to get closer or take the lead, but could not reach Knox territory. The third was especially ill-fated as a wayward pitch was covered by Will Goehring of Knox on the Eureka nine. Two plays later, Strain dumped off his second touchdown pass to Willits from five yards out to give the Prairie Fire a 19-7 edge.
To make matters worse, an interception set up another Knox touchdown early in the fourth quarter as Strain scampered in from 14 yards away.
Eureka got those seven points back quickly, however, as Dempsey sprinted 53 yards for a one play EC scoring drive. Jacob Wall (Cresent City, Ill./Cresent-Iroquois) remained perfect on point after tries to bring Eureka within 26-14 with eight minutes to play.
Cody Troutman (Bloomington, Ill./HS) intercepted a Strain pass on the ensuing possession, but again it was negated by a roughing the passer penalty. Knox eventually capitalized on the second chance by handing off to Willits for an 18 yard scoring run to make the final score 33-14.
Led by the combined 20 tackles of Tim Dombrowski (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) and Tommy Butler (Arrowsmith, Ill./Ridgeview), the Eureka defense hung tough most of the day despite Knox running 19 more plays and enjoying a 34:28-25:32 advantage in time of possession.
"We need to limit our mistakes," added Sullivan. "We're disappointed, but it's not the end of the world."
Dempsey's 113 rushing yards are the most by a Red Devil since October 30, 2004, a span of 22 games. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry.
Willits also ran for 113 yards to lead Knox. Strain was 7-for-13 for 70 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Eureka has next week off before its second home game of the season, Sept. 15 at 1:00 pm versus North Park University.
###
For More Information Contact:
Brian Sullivan Sports Information Director Eureka College 300 E. College Avenue Eureka, Illinois 61530 309-467-6456 bsullivan@eureka.edu
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