For Immediate Release

eureka, illinois

October 11, 2008

Generous Red Devils bow to 1st place Huntingdon

Boxscore

Entering play undefeated and tied for first place in the conference standings, the Huntingdon College Hawks have the talent and experience to throttle most, if not all, of their SLIAC opponents this season without any help from the opposition. But as the Eureka College Red Devils found out Saturday, they were not about to turn it down, either. The Red Devils handed away four turnovers to make for a tough return to their home field, while Huntingdon took full advantage, running up a 62-0 final margin.

Now off to their best start in school history, the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason favorite Hawks (5-0, 3-0 SLIAC) found the end zone on their first three possessions to quickly assert control of the game. They accumulated 104 yard rushing and 77 yard passing in the opening quarter alone as they grabbed a 21-0 lead.

Justin Ridgeway scored on touchdown runs of six and four yards sandwiched around a Miguel Gilmore two-yard scamper. Ridgeway added a third score early in the second quarter, then tossed a screen pass to Jamal Gardner, who gained 34 yards and the final touchdown for the opening half.

The bright spots were few for Eureka (2-3, 1-2 SLIAC) in a first half that saw the Red Devils fall behind 34-0. On special teams, EC blocked two extra points - one by Rosney Beverly (Normal, Ill./West) and the other by Sean Smith (Mendota, Ill./HS). The Red Devils offense chewed up decent yardage while mounting three drives lasting six plays or more, but could not make a dent on the scoreboard.

Starting for the first time in four weeks, junior quarterback Nick Lindsey (Homer, Ill./Heritage) had an accurate first half, going 9-for-13 passing for 86 yards. But, it was freshman running back Brandon Ards (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Philips) and the rest of the Eureka rushing attack that would carry the banner for EC on the day. Ards had his number called 21 times, gaining a career-high 126 yards against the top ranked rushing defense in the SLIAC.

Ards' longest run of the game of 40 yards came on the opening drive of the second half as Eureka got to the Huntingdon 34. Unfortunately, the brief optimism that Ards' exciting play brought on only served to worsen the Eureka faithful's frustration as each drive would somehow stall in Hawks territory. An interception two plays after the 40-yard gain ended the scoring threat, and Eureka would go on to watch two other second half drives fizzle well across midfield.

Meanwhile, Alex Baronich sliced through the Red Devils defense for three rushing touchdowns after halftime to pad the Hawks' lead. He finished as Huntingdon's leading ball carrier with 116 yards on 12 rushing attempts. Ridgeway ended with 169 yards passing and 35 yards rushing.

Matt Knake (Freeburg, Ill./HS) led Eureka in tackles for the fourth straight game, accumulating 12 on the day. Matt Tieman (Champaign, Ill./St. Thomas Come) was next for EC with seven. Three Red Devils has three pass receptions, including Zach McDade (Savoy, Ill./Arcola) for 37 yards, Dan Askew (Farmer City, Ill./Blue Ridge) for 24 yards and Ards for 21 yards. Lindsey completed 10-of-17 passes for 94 yards and Chris Dalberg (Washington, Ill./HS) connected on 4-of-8 for 51 yards.

Having alternated wins and losses through their first five games of the season, the Red Devils will be due to return to the win column next week as they travel to Principia College Saturday, October 18 for a Noon kickoff. Eureka owns a 15-10-1 lead in the all-time series over the Panthers, though the teams have not played since 1989.

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For More Information Contact:

Bryan Moore
Sports Information Director
Eureka College
300 E. College Avenue
Eureka, Illinois 61530
309-467-6456
bmoore@eureka.edu