The Buccaneer football team sprinted onto the field at Strong Stadium in front of a crowd of fans for the first time in 658 days Saturday. Beloit dropped the season and home opener to Concordia University Chicago 30-7 but the Buc faithful were more than excited to see the navy and gold back on the turf. 

The Cougars jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter and added nine more before the half. It seemed CUC had an answer every time Beloit started to swing momentum in their favor. Still, the Bucs didn't fold. 

Beloit scored their first touchdown of the season on an extended drive that spanned nearly the length of the field over seven and-a-half minutes. Lorenzo Powe and Emiliano Reyes did the grunt work from the tailback positions while quarterback Jacob Shafer found Bryan Casado for the big play of the drive, a 15-yard strike. 

On first and 10 at CUC's 17, Shafer looked for Jose Guillen in the endzone but the pass was broken up and a flag flew. Pass interference was the call putting Beloit just two-yards out. Reyes punched the ball through on third down to register the team's first touchdown of the season. Rafael Cervantes Jr. made good on the extra point. 

Shafer was 10-19 for 98 yards including a fantastic 60-yarder hauled in by Silas Say that went down as the longest pass play of the contest. On the receiving end, Shafer spread the ball out but AJ Fitzpatrick was his favorite target with three catches. Say and Casado combined for two receptions and 91 yards in the game. 

Say also registered the most rushing attempts for Beloit in the game gaining 50 yards on 12 carries. 

Defensively, Josh Shapiro tallied 12 tackles including nine solo and 1.5 tackles for a loss. Wyatt Hughes pinned the Cougars behind the line of scrimmage on both of his tackles in the game. 

The Bucs return to action Saturday, September 11 at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm.