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For Immediate Releaseeureka, illinois
September 29, 2007
Eureka forces five turnovers, gets in win column
Brad Polanin (Metamora, Ill./HS) hauled in a 25 yard touchdown pass from Nick Lindsey (Homer, Ill./Heritage) and Eureka College intercepted four Concordia University Chicago aerials en route to a 28-21 triumph Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Red Devils improved to 1-3, 1-1 Illini-Badger Football Conference. Concordia (2-3, 1-1 IBFC) suffered its first loss in league play.
Eureka dominated time of possession for the third week in a row, this time taking full advantage of a 38:35 to 21:25 edge. The Red Devils ran an impressive 96 plays, which included 64 rushing attempts for 244 yards, compared to the Cougars' 56.
The two teams combined for 25 penalties for a total of 257 yards. the Red Devils were able to overcome being flagged 16 times for 147 yards.
Three of Eureka's interceptions came before halftime. Cody Troutman (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Comm.) picked off a Mike Marotta pass on the opening possession to set up on the only scoring drive of the first quarter. Lindsey scampered to paydirt from 10 yards out leading to a 7-0 EC lead.
It was an all-Weeks connection that allowed Concordia to tie the score at 7-7 on the second play of the second quarter as quarterback Jason Weeks throw to receiver Lukas Weeks for 26 yards.
Eureka struck back with two long drives and two touchdowns later in the frame. Sophomore Brett Dyer (Hindsboro, Ill./Arcola) carried six times during a 12 play, 65 yard drive that ended with Dyer's first touchdown of the season from six yards out.
The Red Devils sustained a 14 play drive that ended in a missed field goal, but got the ball back just three plays later when Jacob Wall (Cresent City, Ill./Cresent-Iroquois) intercepted Marotta. Lindsey extended the EC lead with a 17 yard run. Wall added the extra point, giving Eureka a 20-7 halftime lead.
Momentum changed over to the Cougars' sideline in the third quarter as Eureka fumbled away its first two second half possessions. Jason Weeks converted both miscues into short touchdown plunges of one and two yards to give Concordia a 21-20 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The game changing play came with 7:35 remaining as Concordia had the ball at midfield. Matt Knake (Freeburg, Ill./HS) jumped up to pick off a Weeks pass over the middle and returned the ball to the Eureka 48 with a face mask penalty tacked on to the end.
Trailing by one, the Red Devils were far from out of the woods as they faced a fourth and nine at the Cougars' 46. Lindsey's pass to Drew Whightsil (Vandalia, Ill./HS) was at first bobbled before being secured. The play gained just enough upon measurement to keep the drive going. Three plays later, Lindsey hit Polanin deep down the right side to put Eureka back ahead. Lindsey ran around corner for a two point conversions making the score 28-21.
Concordia still had two more chances, but turned the ball over on downs after four plays twice. Fourth down was a big factor in the game as Eureka was perfect on six conversions, while Concordia was 0-for-2.
Lindsey had a stellar day, completing 19 out of 32 pass attempts for one touchdown and no interceptions. He also was Eureka's leading runner with 85 yards and two touchdowns. What should not be overlooked is that the Eureka offensive line did a fine job protecting Lindsey, who was sacked only once and had ample time to throw on most occasions.
Dyer carried 24 times for 70 yards and a touchdown. Whightsil caught eight passes for 43 yards. In addition to his interception, Knake was in on nine tackles and one sack. He was credited with 3.5 tackles for loss. Troutman had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Maurice Tisdale led the Concordia offense with five receptions for 114 yards. Jason Weeks (7-17, 120 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) and Mike Marotta (3-7, 57 yards, 2 INT) were rotated in at quarterback throughout the day. Malcolm Godwin led all players with 13 tackles for the Cougars.
Eureka snapped a 20 game losing streak dating back to 2005. It was the longest in school history. Eureka went winless for 26 games between 1932 and 1936, but mixed in three ties. The Red Devils travel to conference leading Lakeland College next Saturday, Oct. 6 for a 1:00 pm kickoff.
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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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