Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
GALESBURG, Ill. - A wild comeback by the Grinnell College football team came up just short as Knox College escaped with a 20-17 Midwest Conference victory Saturday afternoon.
The Pioneers trailed 20-10 and were stopped short on a fourth-and-1 play with 6:55 to go in the game. But Grinnell's defense responded, forcing a turnover on downs and scoring a touchdown with 3:27 to go.
Grinnell's defense held firm again to force a Knox punt and then drove deep into Prairie Fire territory before an interception gave possession back to the hosts. They ran out the clock from there.
Marcus Sung '28 led Grinnell's rushing attack with 66 yards, while Jack Reed '27 and David Eisenberg '29 each had 49 receiving yards. Stephen Bailey '29 threw for 121 yards on seven completions.
Defensively, Luke Konczal '29 dominated for Grinnell (1-4, 1-3 MWC) with 20 tackles, including 10 solo stops. Breck Bishop '26 added nine tackles, Kevin Johanson '26 tallied eight and Josh Broussard '29 posted seven. Bishop, Rory Leonard '28 and Tony Lee '29 all had sacks.
After a scoreless first period, Knox (2-3, 2-2 MWC) scored a touchdown midway through the second frame for a 6-0 lead. Ben Bortel '29 cut that gap in half with 1:13 to go in the period with a 26-yard field goal.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, with Grinnell's coming on an 8-yard pass from Bailey to Vincent Shen '29.
Things looked bad for Grinnell when the Prairie Fire put together a lengthy drive early in the fourth quarter to take a 20-10 lead, and then forced the Pioneers to turn the ball over on downs.
However, Grinnell returned the favor as Konczal and Hays Marionneaux '28 held the Prairie Fire short on fourth down deep in Pioneer territory. Bailey then passed 18 yards to Reed and three players later found Eisenberg on a 45-yard TD pass across the middle. Bortel's extra point brought Grinnell within three with 3:27 left.
Knox went three-and-out on its next drive and forced to punt, giving Grinnell great field position at the Prairie Fire 41-yard line with 2:18 left in the game. Sam Eaton '27 had a 14-yard gain for a first down and Sung rushed for another first down with an 8-yard gain. However, two plays later the Prairie Fire picked off a pass in the end zone with under a minute to play.
Knox went into victory formation after that to secure the victory.
Grinnell is on the road again next Saturday, playing at Lake Forest College. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.