The Buccaneer defense picked up the offense propelling Beloit College to a 13-7 win over Lawrence University in the Midwest Conference North Division opener at Strong Stadium Saturday afternoon. 

Beloit's offense struggled to get into a rhythm in the game but the Bucs continued to battle behind the squad's stellar defensive effort. The recovered two of Lawrence's six fumbles in the contest, both at key times. Beloit also registered two interceptions including one for a pick-six. The front line continuously put pressure on the Viking offense getting to the quarterback four times and pinned LU behind their line of scrimmage on 11 occasions. 

The offensive highlight for the Bucs came near the end of the first quarter. Going for it on a fourth-and-one from Beloit's own 48, Nano Reyes took the handoff straight up the middle. He looked to get bottled up when he came shooting out the other side of the mass of lineman with a wide open middle of the field ahead of him. Reyes accelerated away from all of the Viking defenders to put the Bucs up 6-0 on a 52-yard run. A combination of a low snap and mishandle on the point after forced Alex Alvarez, Beloit's holder, to roll out and throw the ball away. 

Lawrence's best offensive drive of the game gave the Vikings the lead before halftime. A big play, 29-yard pass to open the drive was followed up with three straight passes capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass. The Vikings' point after was good and Lawrence went into the intermission with a 7-6 lead. 

The second half was all defense, more specifically, all Buccaneer defense. 

Beloit forced punts on the first two Lawrence drives of the half. On the third Viking drive, Caleb Wachal jumped the receiver's route and picked off LU's quarterback taking it to the house for the pick-six and a 13-7 Buccaneer lead. 

The Bucs' defense wasn't done though, Two drives later, Ben Jensen got in on the interception action returning the pick 18-yards. 

A special teams miscue on a punt led to a fumble that was recovered by Lawrence with great field position at the Beloit 34-yard line. Needing to keep Lawrence off the scoreboard with just over 3:30 to play in the game, the Buc defense was up to the task. Lawrence registered a first down but the Beloit defense stiffened and the next three LU pass attempts fell incomplete forcing a fourth-and-ten from the Beloit 22. 

The Vikings had to go for it. The quarterback dropped back and Beloit's Chase Carratt surged passed the blocker taking him down for a sack and a loss of eight yards to turn Lawrence over on downs. 

The offense was unable to capitalize in their next drive giving Lawrence one final opportunity in the game. The Vikings took over on the punt at their own 43 with 1:36 on clock. Billy Wallisch, Lawrence's quarterback, completed the first pass for a short gain of just a yard. His next pass was broken up beautifully by Wachal to force a third and nine. 

Wallisch dropped back Carratt came bursting through the line for another sack, this time for a loss of nine yards. On fourth down, James Miranda came flying off the edge and caught the arm of Wallisch forcing a fumble that was recovered by teammate Jeff Vazquez to seal the win for Beloit. 

Bishop led the defense with nine tackles including a sack and two tackles for a loss of nine yards. Carratt was in on four tackles, tallied 1.5 sacks for 11 yards and 2.5 tackles for a loss of 14 yards in the game. Eight Bucs including Bishop and Carratt tallied tackles for a loss in the contest. Wachal and Jensen registered interceptions in the secondary for Beloit. Miranda and Josh Shapiro each forced fumbles while Vazquez and Tyler Assiff recorded fumble recoveries in the game. 

The Bucs head north to De Pere, Wisconsin to take on St. Norbert College Saturday, October 19. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.