GALESBURG, Illinois— The Prairie Fire football team used a dominant
rushing game and suffocating defense to defeat the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers
in a 44-0 blowout. The win evens their record at 1-1 on the young
season, and gives the team a large boost in confidence as they continue
on with their non-conference schedule.
The Prairie Fire made sure to let the crowd know early on that they came
to play, as a quick four-play drive was capped off by a touchdown pass
to Kobe Shutter from Grant Graham on the right side of the field. Knox
used a quick interception on the next Tiger drive to set up a series of
long runs from Ty Straw to set up near the goal line of Iowa Wesleyan.
Straw immediately punched it in for a touchdown, giving Knox a very
early two score lead. Following a short punt by the Tigers, Knox scored
again, this time on a long run by Joey Auger. In the second quarter,
Knox used a pair of interceptions to produce another Straw touchdown run
and a Preston Lade field goal. As a result, the score swelled to 31-0
at the half.
In the second half, the Prairie Fire eased up on the gas in terms of
offense, while still presenting a suffocating defense. Their defense
even began to take up the scoring duties, using a 55-yard interception
return by Garrett Rau to put another touchdown on the board. Following
that, Iowa Wesleyan only entered Knox territory twice, getting stopped
on downs both times. A short touchdown run for Derrick Jackson was the
final score of the game, and provided the final scoreline of 44-0 in
favor of Knox.
The star performers of the day for Knox were Ty Straw, who rushed for 56
yards on 12 carries while providing two touchdowns, and Garrett and Ean
Rau on defense, who combined for five tackles, a sack, and two
interceptions on the day.
“It was great to see our guys show improvement from game one to game
two,” said head coach Damon Tomeo. “We were firing on all cylinders
today in all three phases which was great to see. Our home crowd, and
the energy they bring, was tremendous.”
Knox football has a bye week next Saturday before hosting the Beloit College Buccaneers at the Knosher Bowl on September 28
