GALESBURG, Ill. — Nearly 1,000 fans came out to watch the Knox season opener in the perfect weather at Stisser Field at the Knosher Bowl on Saturday afternoon, and they were rewarded with a 7-6 Lincoln Bowl victory for the Prairie Fire (1-0) over visiting Eureka (0-1). Sophomore wide receiver Mario Byrd broke loose on an end around for a 28-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, and junior linebacker Manuel Espitia intercepted a pass in Knox territory with less than two minutes to play, sealing the first one-point Knox victory in 25 years.
The Prairie Fire had several scoring opportunities early, but four first-half turnovers sabotaged any plans of jumping out to an early lead. The Red Devils capitalized on one of those turnovers, turning a muffed punt into six points by finishing off a 28-yard drive with a 1-yard dive into the end zone by Angel Garcia with barely three minutes until the intermission. But senior Isaac Mora made a crucial play immediately following the touchdown by blocking the extra point attempt, which ended up being the winning margin.
In the second half, Knox did a better job of holding onto the football, maintaining possession for more than 18 of the 30 minutes. And Byrd redeemed himself for the fumbled punt return with his 28-yard scamper over the goal line with 10:28 to play. Sophomore Jadon Grossnickle supplied the extra point for the 7-6 lead.
A 31-yard Red Devil completion to the Knox 46 took the teams down to the two-minute timeout. When they came back on the field, the next Eureka pass found its way into the arms of Espitia at the Prairie Fire 34. Three plays and two kneel downs later, Knox had its victory.
"I am really proud of how our team played," said Knox head coach Aaron Willits after the game. "We played for 60 minutes, and the defense was amazing at how it controlled the game and kept giving us chances. The blocked PAT was huge, as were pinning them inside their 20 twice on punts. We stayed in the moment, supported one another and finished the game playing our style of football. I couldn't be happier for the seniors and fifth-years that have been in it with me through the years. To have them hold a trophy and see those smiles … that's why coaches coach."
- The Prairie Fire racked up 277 yards of offense — 219 on the ground — while holding Eureka to 226 total yards.
- Four different Knox rushers recorded between 45 and 50 yards, led by senior quarterback Anthony Vazquez with 50 on 13 carries, though junior Kierre Turner had the longest offensive play of the day with a 33-yard scamper.
- Sophomore cornerback Manny Acker led all players with eight tackles, while rookie linebacker Chase Caldwell added six, 1.5 going for a loss while helping out on the team's lone sack with sophomore defensive lineman Cole Oliver.
- This was the 10th game in the Lincoln Bowl series with Knox improving to 3-7, but it is 19-12-1 overall against the Red Devils since the first meeting in 1893.
- The last one-point win was a 15-14 triumph over Lawrence University on Oct. 2, 1999. The Prairie Fire had lost six games by one point since that victory.
Next up for Knox is the Midwest Conference opener at Beloit College next Saturday, Sept. 14. Kickoff at Strong Stadium will be at 6 p.m. with live video and stats available by accessing PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official athletics website of Knox College.