BELOIT, Wis. - Beloit College went scoreless in a 28-0 loss to Luther this afternoon at the Historic Strong Stadium, but the Bucs defense stiffened after halftime and the offense produced its best football in the fourth quarter. The loss drops Beloit to 1-2 (0-1 MWC) overall and 0-2 in conference play. Luther improved to 2-1 and 1-0 in the Midwest Conference.
Luther's four touchdowns came early and in bursts. Trent White ran in from two yards to cap a 12-play, 55-yard opening drive. Bryce Buckley caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from CJ Walker in the second quarter. Anthony Thornton then took a Beloit punt 66 yards for a touchdown. Buckley added a 54-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter. Sean Medcalfe made all four extra points.
Trailing 21-0, Beloit put together a 14-play, 72-yard drive that ate 5:36 off the clock. Noah Carrasco (Cypress, TX) found Carson Corby (Dallas, TX) for 13 and 10 yards. Elijah Grimsley (Palm Bay, FL) hauled in a 21-yard catch, and Bayley Mendoza (Gilbert, AZ) added receptions of 10 and 13 yards to move the ball to the Luther 17. The drive stalled when Carrasco's fourth-down pass to Corby fell incomplete at the 18.
Beloit outgained Luther 107-32 in the final period. An 11-play, 72-yard drive featured Braeden Hoth's (Fort Atkinson, WI) 19-yard catch, a 17-yard grab by Dominic Guzman (Aurora, IL) and a 12-yard reception by Corby, and it reached the Luther 10. It ended with an interception in the end zone. Beloit got the ball back at its own 1 with 2:22 left and drove 52 yards, with Zach Cary (Byers, CO) and Brian Perkins (Austin, TX) (21 yards) making key catches. That drive ended on downs at the Luther 47.
Carrasco threw for 214 yards on 23-of-39 passing while taking four sacks and throwing two interceptions. He was the engine of Beloit's late offense and completed 10 of 14 passes for 83 yards in the second quarter. Hoth led the team with four catches for 45 yards, including a 19-yarder in the fourth quarter. Corby caught four passes for 35 yards, converting two crucial first downs on the second-quarter drive. Cary finished with three catches for 23 yards, including two in the fourth quarter. Elijah Grimsley (Palm Bay, FL) had a 21-yard reception and two catches for 25 yards, along with 13 rushing yards on two carries. Ian Ladd (Madison, WI) punted seven times for 267 yards, with a long of 50, and pinned Luther inside its 20 once.
Beloit's defense allowed only 352 total yards and shut Luther out in the fourth quarter.
Jimmy Guillaume (West Palm Beach, FL) led the team with 11 tackles and forced a fumble. That fumble came in the fourth quarter, when Ronnie Lemon Jr. coughed it up at the Beloit 13 and Nate Caplan (Stuart, FL) recovered, ending a Luther scoring threat.
Michael Snow (Parkland, FL) had eight tackles, a sack and a quarterback hurry. Alex Klun (Sun Prairie, WI) added seven tackles, and Brayden Gonzalez (Mesa, AZ) chipped in four tackles and a sack. Beloit finished with two sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss.
The Bucs also made big stops in the third quarter. RJ Dube III (Tavernier, FL) blocked a Luther punt, and Josh Yearby (Hollywood, FL) recovered it at midfield. Later, Beloit's defense held on downs at its own 6-yard line after a 14-play, 70-yard Luther drive that took 7:30.
The Buccaneers head to Grinnell, Iowa and Grinnell College on Saturday, September 26th for a clash with the Pioneers. Kick off from Rosenbloom Field is set fo 1:00 p.m.
