Beloit College Buccaneers (2-7, 0-5 MWC North)
at Knox College Prairie Fire (2-7, 0-5 MWC South)
Saturday, November 15, 2014, 1:00 p.m.
Knosher Bowl, Galesburg, Illinois
The Buccaneers hit the road for their final game of the 2014 season as they play Knox College as part of MWC Championship Saturday. Beloit is looking to end the season on a positive note after last Saturday's 49-14 loss at Carroll University, their sixth straight setback. The Prairie Fire is also looking to snap a six-game losing streak after falling at Monmouth College Saturday 33-2.
The Series: The Buccaneers and Prairie Fire are meeting for the 98th time in a series Beloit leads 52-43 with two ties. Knox has won the last two meetings on the heels of a four-game BC winning streak. The teams have split the last eight meetings with four wins each. The Bucs' last win in the series came on September 24, 2011, 34-20 in Galesburg. The programs first met in the final game of the 1899 season, a 6-6 tie.
Most Recent Game: Beloit ran into a first-half buzzsaw at Carroll University last Saturday afternoon on the way to a 49-14 loss. The Pioneers scored touchdowns on four of their six first-half possessions while holding the Buccaneers to just 71 yards of offense to lead 28-0 at the break. CU took the opening kickoff 56 yards in six plays for the lone TD of the opening quarter. They then added three touchdowns in the second quarter, beginning with a short run 44 seconds in. They added an eight-yard run at the 4:24 mark and then turned a late interception into a third TD in the quarter at 1:17 for their commanding lead at the break. The Buccaneers got on the board midway through the third quarter on Mason Dixon's four-yard run before the Pioneers scored back-to-back TDs in a three-plus minute span to make it 42-7 entering the fourth quarter. CU added a 100-yard interception return midway through the quarter before Kam Sallee's 65-yard run closed out the scoring with 2:52 remaining. Dixon finished with 138 yards on the ground while Sallee had 101 to lead the offense. Defensively Derell Carter had nine tackles and a fumble recovery while Antonio Jones had eight stops and Riley Pearson seven. Alam Ham had the lone sack for Beloit.
Bucs' Last Time vs. the Prairie Fire: Beloit couldn't rebound from a good first half by visiting Knox College on October 12, 2013, at Strong Stadium, falling 31-21. The Prairie Fire scored 21 first-half points on a first quarter 34-yard fumble recovery by Chris Wozny and second-quarter scores on Luke Oosterbaan's three-yard and seven-yard runs to lead 21-7 at the break. After falling behind 14-0 with four minutes left in the half, Kam Sallee hit Michael Nolden with a nine-yard scoring pass to cap a nine-play drive and pull the Bucs back within 14-7. But KC got a 68-yard run from Oosterbaan on their first play after the ensuing kickoff which led to his seven-yard score with 2:43 left for the final say in the first 30 minutes. The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter. After Knox scored on a short run by Derek Mortensen at 9:09 Mason Dixon finished up an 84-yard drive with a 33-yard TD run to keep Beloit within two touchdowns. The Prairie Fire built their lead back up to three scores with a Phil Tallman 23-yard field goal at 5:31 of the fourth before Evan Phillips hit Jon Fuller with an eight-yard scoring pass to complete a quick 2:17 drive, but that was as close as the Buccaneers could get as time ran out. Dixon had his fourth straight 100-yard rushing game with 126 on 17 carries. Sallee added 58 yards on the ground. Phillips threw for 72 yards on 7-8 passing while Nolden caught five passes for 54 yards to lead the receiving corps. Lukeson Versulien had 15 yards rushing and 116 on kickoff returns, including a 43-yarder. Oosterbaan had 131 yards rushing and 98 yards passing to pace Knox's offense. Mortensen added 114 yards on the ground. On defense, Antonio Jones and Jake Fisher each had ten tackles, including seven solo stops for Jones. Brian Flanagan, John Taylor and David Lafayette added nine each. Lafayette also had a sack and an interception. Matt Hendrick and Tom Discher had nine tackles apiece for the Prairie Fire, with Discher recording a pair of sacks. Wozny's fumble return TD was the lone turnover for Beloit.
Notes: Mason Dixon went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season with Saturday's 138-yard effort. He now has 1,007 in 2014 and 2,333 in two seasons going into the season finale. He ranks sixth all-time in career rushing yardage…Saturday's game marked a season-high for rushing yards by the Bucs with 254. It's the most since they ran for 356 at Cornell College on October 5, 2013…That game at Cornell last season was also the last time Beloit had two 100-yard rushers in a game. Dixon (138) and Kam Sallee (101) did it last Saturday. Dixon (180) and Mohammed Abbed (102) did it at Cornell…The Buccaneers now have 25 sacks this season, the most they've had since they recorded 31 in 1999. Derell Carter leads the way with 7.0 while Alan Ham has 6.5…
Up Ahead for the Bucs: Beloit looks to the 2015 season to build on the successes of year one in Seth Duerr's coaching time with the Buccaneers.