CHICAGO, Ill. - This afternoon the Beloit College Football team took on the Maroons of the University of Chicago in Midwest Conference action. The Buccaneers (1-3, 1-2 MWC) struggled to score, converting their only points on a 22-yard field goal with three seconds left. The Maroons (2-2, 2-1 MWC) put up points in three of the four quarters to walk away with a 23-3 victory. 

After the Maroons scored on the opening drive of the game, the Buccaneers went three and out but got another chance after Christopher Croft Jr (Florissant, MO). intercepted Teddy Gouldin's pass. Raydarriuz Kelley (Dallas, TX) broke up the pass, allowing for the Croft interception at the Maroons 37 yard line. The following possession the Buccaneers started to move the ball well, including an 11-yard completion from Jacob Shafer (Dixon, IL) to AJ Fitzpatrick (Chicago, IL) on fourth down. The Bucs worked their way to the Chicago 21-yard line. On fourth down, Rafael Cervantes Jr. (Dallas, TX) took the field for what would have been a 38-yard attempt. His kick was blocked by UoC and the Bucs came up empty. After one quarter of play, the Bucs trailed 0-7. 

Three of Beloit's first four drives in the second quarter were three and outs, their second possessions was essentially stalled by back-to-back Beloit penalties. Meanwhile, the Maroons extended their lead to 16-0 heading into the break. 

The Buccaneers put together their longest drive of the game in the third. The thirteen play, 55-yard drive unfortunately ended in a turnover on downs but was highlighted by a 27-yard reception by Cooper Larrabee that flipped the field and moved the Bucs to the UoC 37 yard line. The drive ended at the three yard line after the Maroon defense stepped up big and sacked Shafer for a 17-yard loss. Neither team scored in the third quarter and heading into the final frame, the score remained 0-16 in favor of the Maroons. 

The Maroons extended their lead once again and with 13:39 left in the game, they took a 23-0 lead. With UoC working to milk the clock, the Buccaneers struggled to get things moving offensively. The Bucs final drive of the game started with two minutes remaining. Starting at their own 30-yard line, Shafer found Fitzpatrick for back-to-back completions of 20 and 13-yards to move to the Maroons 22-yard line. Shafer found Larrabee for eight yards to bring the Bucs in the redzone. A sack, an incompletion and short completion left the Bucs with 4th and five. Cervantes nailed a 22-yard field goal to make it a 3-23 game. 

The Buccaneers return home next weekend to host the Cornell Rams at Strong Stadium. Kickoff on Saturday, October 12th is set for 1 pm.