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For Immediate Release
Oct. 17, 2009
LaGrange Downs Eureka Football, 37-10
EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka College football team opened Saturday’s nonconference game against LaGrange with a 14-play drive capped by a field goal, but the Panthers responded with 30 unanswered points on their way to a 37-10 victory over the Red Devils at McKinzie Field.
After Eureka drove 55 yards on its first 14 plays from scrimmage, freshman kicker Travis Huber (Morton, Ill./Morton H.S.) connected on 27-yard field goal attempt to give the Red Devils a 3-0 lead with 7:27 remaining in the first quarter. Senior quarterback Nick Lindsey (Homer, Ill./Heritage H.S.) delivered three key plays on the drive, running for 13 yards and completing passes of 18 and 17 yards.
The Red Devils appeared to maintain momentum following the field goal, forcing the Panthers to go three-and-out on their first possession, but LaGrange senior running back Mario Wallace broke free for a 45-yard touchdown run to start LaGrange’s next offensive set, giving the Panthers a 7-3 lead. The visitors stretched their lead to 13-3 when LaGrange sophomore Josh Clinton returned a Lindsey interception 37 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter.
LaGrange kicker Josh Stripling added a 22-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, followed by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Drew Carter to Riley Hill late in the half to give LaGrange a 23-3 halftime lead. Offensively, Eureka was 1-for-9 on third down opportunities in the first half. After picking up four first downs on their first drive of the game, the Red Devils recorded only two more first downs during the first half.
Trailing 23-3, the Red Devils promptly forced a LaGrange turnover when sophomore defensive back Brock Davis (Decatur, Ill./Warrensburg-Latham H.S.) recovered a fumble on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter. The EC offense was able to drive inside the LaGrange 5-yard line on the ensuing possession, but an incompletion on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line forced Eureka to turn the ball over on downs. Three possessions later, LaGrange took a 30-3 lead when Carter found Nick Langley on a 17- yard touchdown throw.
Eureka broke through for its only touchdown drive of the game when freshman quarterback Sam Durley (Roanoke, Ill./Roanoke-Benson H.S.) directed a seven-play, 57-yard drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Wes Schmidgall (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) with 6:48 remaining in the game. Durley completed five passes on the drive, including a 21-yard completion to Schmidgall to setup first-and-goal. LaGrange running back Kent Gibson carried the ball six times for 42 yards on the ensuing possession, including a 13-yard touchdown run, to give the Panthers a 37-10 lead and cap the day’s scoring.
Lindsey completed 13-of-28 passes for 138 yards. Senior wide receiver Sam Hendricks (Danvers, Ill./University H.S.) pulled down six catches to set a new career-high for the second consecutive week. Freshman linebacker Seth Zehr (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) played a solid game for the defense, recording a game-high 9.0 tackles.
The Red Devils will play on the road for the first time since Sept. 26 when they travel to MacMurray for their final UMAC South Division game next Saturday. Kickoff in Jacksonville, Ill. against the Highlanders is set for noon.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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