Red Devils Hold Off Rockford in Thrilling Finish, 35-28
EUREKA – The Eureka football team held off Rockford in an unforgettable fourth quarter and locked up a 35-28 victory at McKinzie Field to open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play on Saturday.
With their backs against the wall, the Red Devils made play after play en route to a dramatic finish that secured the team's first 3-0 start since 2018.
"That's why I love this team so much," said Eureka fifth-year senior safety Jack Arnett (Princeville, Ill./Princeville). "Down the stretch, when guys need to make plays and pick each other up, we do it."
The maroon and gold saw a 21-point first-half lead dissipate and turn into a seven-point deficit with 10:38 left in the fourth quarter. The Regents then forced a turnover on the first play of Eureka's drive and threatened to pull away.
Rockford marched to the 16-yard line and quarterback Jaelen Ray fired over the middle to receiver Da'Quan McIntosh in the end zone, but Eureka fifth-year senior safety Jack Arnett (Princeville, Ill./Princeville) ripped it out of his hands for a game-changing interception.
"I knew that a big play needed to be made," Arnett said. "They could not go up two scores. We needed a momentum shift. I kind of just read my keys, read the quarterback's eyes, and I spun around, and I was fortunate enough to be in the right spot to give us some life in the fourth."
With less than eight minutes left, Eureka quarterback Kaeden Frazier (Clarkston, Wash./Clarkston) then completed a 37-yard pass to Jack Butler (Tinley Park, Ill./Tinley Park), which started a five-play, 80-yard drive that lasted less than 2 1/2 minutes.
It ended with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Frazier to Sebastian Hill (Pekin, Ill./Pekin). Steven Bartkus' (Seneca, Ill./Seneca) extra-point attempt was good, tying the game at 28-28 with 5:25 to play.
The Red Devils' defense then delivered the first of two late must-have stops. The Regents made it 36 yards on nine plays, but senior linebacker Austin Hopkins (Arcola, Ill./Arcola) came up with a nine-yard sack and freshman safety Hansen Johnson (Laplace, La./East St. John) broke up a deep pass on 4th and 3 at Eureka 43.
The next drive started with a 50-yard pass from Frazier to Butler, putting the Red Devils on the 7. Eureka fullback Ben Bernabei (Peru, Ill./St. Bede Academy) then went up the middle for four yards, and after a timeout, finished a three-yard touchdown run. Bartkus put it through the uprights to make it 35-28.
In the blink of an eye, the Red Devils were back on top, but there was still time for the Regents to respond.
With a series of four short passes, the purple jerseys were back in the red zone. It came down to one last play. With three seconds left on the clock and the Regents on the Eureka 19, Ray dropped back, facing heavy pressure from Eureka linebacker Brendan Durr (Washington, Ill./Washington) and heaved it down the middle to Timothy Bearden. His receiver hauled it in as the horn sounded and turned toward the end zone, before he was stripped by Johnson to end it.
Bernabei, a fifth-year senior, tied his career high in rushing yards, racking up 161 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns. Freshman Jakobe Deloach (Columbus, Miss./Killeen) tallied a career-high 117 rushing yards on 15 carries. It was the first time Eureka has had two ball carriers notching 100 yards or more since Lamont Hill Jr. and Nehemiah Butler did it on Oct. 9, 2021 –due in no small part to the effort of the offensive line led by Jake Benninger (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln Community), Hugo Garza (Arcola, Ill./Arcola), Edgar Reyes (Seneca, Ill./Seneca), Xander Hutchcraft (Bement, Ill./Bement) and Tanner Laesch (Lexington, Ill./Lexington).
Butler recorded a career-high 131 receiving yards on four catches and one touchdown.
Hill posted three receptions for 69 yards, as well as the game-tying touchdown in the fourth. He is now tied with Nathan Hutchings (1992-95) for fourth in program history with 17 career touchdown receptions, and is now tied for sixth in receptions with 100.
Frazier threw for 222 yards on 10-of-20 passing with a pair of touchdowns and interceptions. Although he didn't have his best game of the season in the pocket, his focus never wavered and he came through on key drives down the stretch.
Defensively, Arnett led the way, racking up a career-high 13 total tackles, along with the late interception and two pass breakups.
Johnson and Durr both had 10 total tackles. David Hill (Elgin, Ill./St. Edwards Catholic) was next with eight. Eureka's defense nearly completed a first-half shutout, but the Regents got on the board just before halftime and got the better of the Red Devils for a good portion of the second.
Still, it came through when it had to.
"Defensively, it's so reassuring that we didn't even play our best game today, and we were still able to make plays down the stretch and get a big win," Arnett said.
Saturday's win was Eureka's sixth straight against Rockford, improving the team to 7-1 in the all-time series.
The Red Devils (3-0, 1-0 NACC) will vie for their first 4-0 start since the 2018 conference championship series next Saturday. St. Norbert (2-1, 1-0 NACC) comes to town for a 1 p.m. kickoff at McKinzie Field.
