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For Immediate Release
Sept. 19, 2009
Eureka Rallies to stun Martin Luther, 41-34
EUREKA, Ill. – Trailing by two touchdowns with 7:56 remaining in Saturday’s game against Martin Luther, the Eureka College football team scored 20 unanswered points in the final 6:23 of the game to cap a remarkable 41-34 comeback victory over the Knights in front of a raucous, standing room-only crowd at McKinzie Field. Senior quarterback Nick Lindsey (Homer, Ill./Heritage H.S.) found sophomore wide receiver Wes Schmidgall (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) in the corner of the end zone for a five-yard touchdown pass with 0:14 remaining to complete the fourth quarter rally.
Martin Luther (1-2) junior running back Andrew Becker gave the Knights a 34-21 lead when his four-yard touchdown run capped a 13-play, 96-yard drive that chewed 6:04 off the clock in the fourth quarter, seemingly putting the game away with just 7:56 remaining.
The Red Devils (2-1) battled back immediately, needing just five plays and 86 seconds to march 58 yards when junior tight end Dillon Reed (Illiopolis, Ill./Sangamon Valley H.S.) pulled down a 33-yard touchdown catch and run in heavy traffic across the middle of the field. The strike trimmed Eureka’s deficit to 34-27 after the extra point attempt from freshman Travis Huber (Morton, Ill./Morton H.S.) was blocked.
On the ensuing Martin Luther possession, the Eureka defense promptly forced the Knights to go three-and-out after three rushing attempts netted only eight yards. The punt on fourth down from Tyler Dorn traveled 44 yards before being downed at the 3-yard line, leaving the Eureka offense just 4:06 to travel 97 yards in its bid to tie the game.
The Red Devils answered the challenge, marching 97 yards on 10 plays to tie the game on a 25-yard strike from Lindsey to Schmidgall in the back of the end zone. Huber calmly converted the extra point to force the 34-34 tie. Lindsey was 5-for-9 on the drive for 92 yards and added a 15-yard run on third down at the Eureka 9-yard line to give the Red Devils breathing room early in the series. Eureka overcame a 10-yard holding penalty on the play prior to Schmidgall’s touchdown catch.
After Martin Luther mishandled the ensuing kickoff and was forced to start the drive on its own 13-yard line with 1:58 to go, junior running back Aaron Voss carried for 10 yards and a first down before a pair of incompletions and a holding penalty forced the Knights to punt again from its own 17-yard line. Dorn’s punt took a favorable bounce for Eureka before being downed at the Martin Luther 44-yard line, giving the Red Devils outstanding field position for their game-winning scoring drive with just 1:16 remaining in the game.
On third-and-four from the 38-yard line, Lindsey delivered the big blow of the drive with a 33-yard run down to the 5-yard line to set up first-and-goal. Remarkably, Lindsey finished the run with just one shoe after losing his cleat during the scramble. After the teams traded timeouts and senior running back Chris Wakid (Danvers, Ill./Eureka H.S.) was stopped for no gain, the Red Devils spent their final timeout to setup the game-winning strike from Lindsey to Schmidgall with 0:14 left. The Knights had time for one final play, but Ryan Kolander’s desperate attempt to keep the final play of the game alive was fumbled and recovered by the Red Devils as time expired.
The Eureka offense had a huge day, racking up 606 yards. Lindsey led the charge, going 18-for-37 for 281 yards and four touchdowns through the air to go along with 129 rushing yards. Schmidgall recorded Eureka career-highs with 10 catches and 167 yards. Senior wideout Drew Whightsil (Vandailia, Ill./Vandailia H.S.) pulled down a 46-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter on freshman quarterback Sam Durley’s (Roanoke, Ill./Roanoke-Benson H.S.) first career touchdown throw. Durley spelled Lindsey for three series late in the first half and finished 4-for-8 for 82 yards.
Freshman running back Jeremy Pflasterer (Freeburg, Ill./Freeburg H.S.) ran for 69 yards on 11 carries and scored his first career touchdown on a 26-yard scamper with 8:04 left in the first quarter. Wakid added 45 yards on the ground.
Defensively, sophomore defensive back Mike Minehan (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S.) played a solid game with a team-best 9.5 tackles. Senior Cody Troutman (Normal, Ill./Normal Community) turned in nine tackles and added an interception early in the second quarter. The Martin Luther offense ran a no-huddle offense for the duration of the contest.
Voss was one of three Martin Luther backs to carry the ball at least 10 times, finishing the day with 179 rushing yards on 37 carries. In all, the Knights ran the ball 61 times for 348 yards. Martin Luther quarterback Greg Holzhueter added 126 yards on the ground on just 11 carries and went 9-for-22 passing for 138 yards. Kolander led the Knights with six catches for 102 yards.
Eureka’s 2-1 start is its best start through three games since opening the 2004 season with a 2-1 record. The Red Devils are 2-0 at home for the first time since 1997.
The Red Devils will play their fourth straight non-conference game one week from Saturday, visiting Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wis. for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Blue Devils.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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