BELOIT, Wis. — Sophomore Taylor McAdams galloped 14 yards into the end zone with just under two minutes to play, lifting visiting Knox College to a 17-13 victory over Beloit College at Strong Stadium on Saturday evening. The Prairie Fire (2-0) racked up 337 rushing yards and held the ball for nearly 38 minutes to beat the Buccaneers (0-2) for the sixth straight meeting and start a season with two victories for the first time since 2017.
Beloit had taken a 13-7 lead in the third quarter by booting a 42-yard field goal to start the half and tossing a 7-yard scoring strike following a long punt return into the red zone. Knkox sophomore Jadon Grossnickle responded to that 10-point outburst with a 30-yard field goal that he just snuck over the crossbar, making it a 13-10 deficit with 4:06 left in the third quarter.
It looked as if the Prairie Fire was on their way to at least tying the game early in the fourth quarter as they drove into Buccaneer territory before fumbling the ball away at the Beloit 24. After a defensive stop and a punt put Knox back on its own 17, the rushing game took over, traversing all 83 yards (save a 15-yard personal-foul penalty) on seven runs with junior Cole Gino and McAdams providing most of the work.
Four incomplete Beloit passes and a Knox first-down run later, the Fire were able to run out the clock, matching their total of road victories (one) from a year ago.
"I didn't have much to say to the team after the game because I couldn't stop thinking about how gritty they were tonight," said Knox head coach Aaron Willits. "The guys took care of each other and picked each other up all game, something you just love to see as a coach. Winning is hard, and winning close games without folding is even harder. Our defense was terrific again, and forcing Beloit to settle for field goals twice was big for us. And the offense controlled the ball and wore them down in the end."
- Knox held a 7-3 advantage at the intermission thanks to a 99-yard touchdown drive — the team's longest in at least a dozen years — that ate up eight and a half minutes of the clock.
- A 52-yard run by sophomore Aiden Frail set up the touchdown on that long drive, a 13-yard quarterback draw by senior Anthony Vazquez, who led the Prairie Fire with 86 yards on the ground.
- McAdams (78 yards, 16 carries) and Frail (72 yards, four carries) also topped 70 rushing yards.
- Vazquez attempted only 11 passes, completing three for a total of 9 yards.
- The Prairie Fire defense held Beloit to 231 total yards and allowed the Buccaneers to complete just 12 of 39 passes with one interception by junior safety Nick Blencoe.
- Fifth-year senior Hunter Anderson led Knox with 10 tackles, 2.5 going for a loss, while sophomore Manuel Espitia recorded the lone sack.
- This was the 50th victory for the Prairie Fire over Beloit, improving to 50-55-2 in a series that dates back to 1898.
Knox returns to Stisser Field at the Knosher Bowl next Saturday, Sept. 21, when it plays host to the University of Chicago (0-2) at 1 p.m. Live video and stats will be available through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official athletics website of Knox College.