MacMurray Edges Eureka in Defensive Bout

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Eureka College football team built an early 10-0 lead, but were unable to sustain the advantage, falling 13-10 to Upper Midwest Athletic Conference rival MacMurray, Saturday afternoon at Freesen Field in Jacksonville, Ill.

Freshman running back LeAnthony Reasnover (Momence, Ill./Momence) scored the first points of the contests on a 5-yard rush with 5:05 remaining in the first quarter. The talented freshman finished the day with 69 yards rushing on 23 attempts. Eureka's opening drive covered 19 plays for 75 yards and took 9:55 off the clock.

Eureka would extend their lead to 10-0 after a made field goal from 27-yards out by junior Tyler Winders (Pekin, Ill./Pekin).

The Highlanders would cut the deficit to 10-7 after a 63-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Charles Miller. Neither team added on to their totals in the second, and the Red Devils took a slim 3-point lead into intermission.

MacMurray took their first lead of the ball game in the third quarter when senior running back Patrick Hall rushed for a 2-yard touchdown, moving the Highlanders to a 13-10 advantage.

Defenses for both teams would step up throughout the remainder of the third quarter and into the fourth, as neither team would be able to get in scoring position.

The visitor's final opportunity came down to a 39-yard field goal, but the snap was bad and Eureka was unable to get a game-tying kick attempt off.

Junior Conrad Schumann (Rodgau, Germany/Claus-von-Stauffenberg) attempted 43 passes, completing 25 of them for 199 yards. Sophomore Jed Vance (Havana, Ill./Havana) also saw action under center, complete 2-of-6 passes for 16 yard and added three rushes for 34 yards.

Sophomore Demarcus Heglar (Chicago, Ill./Taft) led all Eureka receivers with two catches for 42 yards.

Sophomore defensive end Ray Vogel (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone) led the defensive charge with six total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Senior Marcus Washington (Peoria, Ill./Morton) had the lone turnover for the EC defense with his first interception of the season.

Eureka will head home next Saturday for a 1 p.m. conference contest against the Greenville Panthers. The home game will be the first of two consecutive weeks in which Eureka will play at home.