Eureka Outlasts Rockford, Secures Overtime Win, 58-57
ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Eureka football team survived an unforgettable shootout at Rockford on Saturday and secured a nail-biting, 58-57 victory in overtime over their Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference foes.
The Red Devils never trailed the Regents at Sam Greeley Field on Saturday, but the team came a play away from coming up short when there was no margin for error on two occasions.
With Eureka leading Rockford 51-45 with 2:39 remaining in regulation, the Regents marched down the field and tied the game with 35 seconds left on the clock. An extra point would give the home team a one-point edge and leave the Red Devils with little time to respond.
The Red Devils needed a big play, and on cue, Donovan Hathaway (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) blocked Henry Pavlak's attempt, keeping the game tied and setting up Eureka's first overtime win since the team's 26-20 win at Wisconsin Lutheran on Oct. 12, 2019.
In overtime, the Red Devils handed it off to freshman running back Lamont Hill Jr. (East Moline, Ill./United Township) four straight times. On second down, he rushed for 20 yards, fumbled and the ball was recovered by Malek Folston (Cocoa, Fla./Vera). Two plays later, Hill was in the end zone for a one-yard score – his fifth touchdown of the afternoon. Kicker Steven Bartkus (Seneca, Ill./Seneca) put away the extra point to make it 58-51.
When Rockford got the ball, the Regents answered by scoring in four plays, with Jaelen Ray's 8-yard touchdown pass to Joey Owens making it 58-57.
An extra point would have sent the game to a second overtime period, but the Regents elected to go for two and seize the win in the first OT.
It wasn't to be, though. Ray heaved it to the left corner of the end zone, but the receiver slipped on the way out and couldn't recover. The ball fell to the ground incomplete, triggering a long-awaited Eureka celebration.
With 115 points between the two teams, the win was the highest-scoring game in Eureka's program history since the team's 69-63 loss to Crown on Nov. 7, 2009.
It was also a historic performance by Hill Jr. The freshman tailback racked up five rushing touchdowns and finished with 136 rushing yards on 30 carries.
It was the 11th time in program history for a Red Devil to rush for five touchdowns. He is only the fourth player to do it in maroon and gold, joining an exclusive club that features only Le'Anthony Reasnover, who scored seven on Nov. 4, 2017, six on Sept. 30, 2017, and five on Oct. 28, 2017 and five times during the 2018 season, Eric Leiser (six on Nov. 2, 1991) and Ralph McKinzie (five on Oct. 15, 1920).
He is the first freshman to score five rushing touchdowns for Eureka in the Division III era, and his 136 rushing yards were the most by a freshman since Reasnover's 145 in a 35-0 victory at Iowa Wesleyan on Oct. 17, 2015.
Hill scored on runs of 4 and 2 yards in the first quarter to give EC a 14-0 lead early. He scored on a 20-yard run early in the second quarter to make it 28-12, then he scored again in the fourth on a 19-yard dash that gave EC a 12-point lead at 51-39. His last was the one-yarder that ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
Quarterback Nathan Garard (Gibson City, Ill./Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley) threw three touchdown passes and finished with 214 passing yards on 10-of-26 passing. All three touchdown passes were to senior receiver Pierce Bradford (Decatur, Ill./Argenta-Oreana).
The first was off a 35-yard pass early in the second that made it 21-12. Midway through the third, Bradford scored a 42-yard touchdown to make it 35-26.
A 29-yard field goal by Bartkus on the next drive gave EC a 12-point advantage with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter. After Rockford answered late in the third, Garard found Bradford again early in the fourth for a 33-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play, 80-yard drive.
Braford finished with 120 receiving yards on four catches. Sebastian Hill (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) added three catches for 37 yards and Folston caught a big one for 29 yards. Kobe Newman (Tonica, Ill./St. Bede Academy) and Cedric Hopkins (Longview, Texas/Longview) each had a catch as well.
Rockford amassed 692 yards of total offense, with 472 passing yards and eight touchdowns by Ray leading the way. His top target, Owens, hauled in four touchdown grabs and posted 162 receiving yards on nine catches. Maurice Williams came up with four catches for 132 yards and a touchdown.
In the backfield, LaVar Johnson rushed for 142 yards on 23 carries and a score.
The Regents were an offensive powerhouse, but the team's shortcomings on special teams ended up making a big difference. In addition to the blocked extra point at the end of regulation, the team missed two other extra points and the Red Devils blocked two punts, which set up short fields and quick scores.
Colton Walsberg's (Pontiac, Ill./Pontiac) blocked punt in the first quarter set up Hill's first TD of the day. Malaki Jenkins' (Chicago, Ill./Collins) blocked another on the next Rockford drive.
Walsberg led the Red Devils on the defensive end, notching 11 total tackles. Fellow linebackers Brendan Durr (Washington, Ill./Washington) and Amari Smith (Chicago, Ill./Hillcrest) notched nine and eight, respectively.
The win marked Eureka's first to open NACC play since 2018 and the team's fourth straight win over Rockford since joining the NACC.
Next Saturday, the Red Devils (1-2, 1-0 NACC) will continue league play at Benedictine (2-1, 1-0 NACC) at 1 p.m.