BELOIT, Wis. - Beloit College held unbeaten Lake Forest off the scoreboard for the first 16 minutes Saturday at historic Strong Stadium. The Foresters then ran away with a 55-7 win, finishing with 558 total yards. Beloit fell to 2-6 overall and 1-6 in conference play. Lake Forest improved to 8-0 and 6-0.
The Buccaneers' defense gave the visitors little early. On Lake Forest's first possession, Beloit stopped the Foresters on fourth-and-2 at midfield for a turnover on downs. Lake Forest later drove 58 yards in 11 plays to the Beloit 16, but Hudson Schambach missed a 33-yard field goal with 5:07 left in the first quarter. The game was scoreless after one.
Lake Forest didn't score until 13:58 of the second quarter, on a 1-yard run by Cole Sorensen. Beloit's defense got another stop late in the half, forcing a turnover on downs at the Beloit 14 with 3:32 to play. Lake Forest still scored 21 points in the second quarter and led 21-0 at halftime.
Beloit broke through at 10:37 of the fourth quarter, trailing 41-0. The Buccaneers put together a 10-play, 88-yard drive that took 5:26 and was their longest of the day. It began late in the third quarter, with Noah Carrasco (Cypress, TX) completing a 21-yard pass to Zach Cary (Byers, CO) and an 11-yarder to Carson Corby (Dallas, TX). In the fourth quarter, Tommy Dixson added a 12-yard run, and a Lake Forest unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a third-down play moved the ball to the Lake Forest 15. Elijah Grimsley (Palm Bay, FL) ripped off a 12-yard run to the 3-yard line and then ran it in from there. Guillermo Oyuela Bonilla's (Orlando, FL) extra point made it 41-7.
It was Beloit's only touchdown. The Buccaneers finished with 208 total yards.
The Buccaneers got standout efforts from their backfield, receivers, and defense, even in the loss. Grimsley led the Buccaneers on the ground with 36 yards on five carries (7.2 per carry), including 29 yards in the fourth quarter and the team's only touchdown. Carrasco completed 15 of 18 passes for 139 yards but was sacked five times, threw one interception, and netted minus-10 yards on 14 rushes. Corby caught two passes for 58 yards, including a 47-yarder that was Beloit's longest play of the day, while Julian Hernandez (Miami, FL) (three catches, 17 yards), Bayley Mendoza (Gilbert, AZ) (two for 21), and Cary (one for 21) also made plays in the passing game. On defense, Michael Snow (Parkland, FL) led all players with 11 tackles, including a pass breakup, while John Deary II (Avondale, LA) and David Howard III (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) each added nine tackles, Howard with 1.5 tackles for loss, and Jimmy Guillaume (West Palm Beach, FL) had eight. Ian Ladd (Madison, WI) punted six times for 184 yards, and Jayden Gist (Key West, FL) returned three kickoffs for 70 yards.
The third quarter got away from Beloit, which was outscored 20-0. Carrasco fumbled on a sack-turned-rush with Nicholas Zook forcing it, and Joseph Okoh returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to make it 41-0 with 1:03 left in the quarter.
The Buccaneers did control the clock, holding the ball for 31:56 to Lake Forest's 28:04 and for 20:14 in the second half. They ran 13 times for 69 yards in the fourth quarter. Beloit went 4-for-13 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth.
Late in the game, Beloit's drive stalled at the Lake Forest 48, where Carrasco was intercepted by CJ King on fourth-and-3. Lake Forest turned it into a 4-play, 40-yard touchdown drive for the final margin.
The Buccaneers are on the road for their final two games of the season. Next week they head to Ripon for a clash with the Red Hawks. Kick off from Hopp Stadium is set for 4 pm.
