Eureka Drops Road Finale at Concordia Wisconsin, 37-21
MEQUON, Wis – The 2021 spring season came to an end for the Eureka football team on Saturday with a 37-21 loss at Concordia Wisconsin.
Though they were shorthanded due to injuries and other issues that have arisen throughout the campaign, the Red Devils (2-3) completed the season as one of only two teams in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference to play all five games on the schedule.
Eureka quarterback Nathan Garard (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley) threw for over 200 yards for the second time in his career, recording 212 passing yards and a touchdown while completing a career-high 20 of 34 passes. The sophomore also ran for his second career rushing TD.
Without their top two running backs in the lineup on Saturday, freshman Gabe Townsend (Winamac, Ind./Winamac) stepped up and rushed for 84 yards and his first career touchdown on 16 carries.
Senior tight end and wide receiver Kolbi Crittenden (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap) scored his second career touchdown reception and recorded 55 yards on seven catches.
Freshman Shawn Ratliff (Joliet, Ill./Joliet) recorded a team-high 65 receiving yards on five receptions, while senior Blake Phillips (Catlin, Ill./Salt Fork) also wis receptions for 49 yards the Red Devils.
Jon Jackson (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) was the team's leading tackler with nine total tackles, including seven solo. Brendan Durr (Washington, Ill./Washington) followed with seven, and Amari Smith (Hazel Crest, Ill./Hillcrest), Colton Walsberg (Pontiac, Ill./Pontiac) each had seven. Bryson Smith (Cisco, Ill./Monticello) had four total tackles, including two for loss and one 11-yard sack. Smith also had a sack for seven yards.
Concordia Wisconsin got off to a strong start, scoring on the team's first three possessions to take a 21-7 lead.
On the Red Devils' first drive of the game, the team drove 55 yards on eight plays before fumbling the ball away at the 10-yard line. The team converted on its second possession, though. Eureka put together a 10-play, 65-yards that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Garard to Crittenden on 4th and 8.
The Falcons scored their third TD on a 75-yard catch-and-run for Tim Houlihan, then quickly got the ball back on another EC fumble and scored again early in the second quarter to make it 28-7.
The Red Devils responded by carefully manufacturing another long drive that went 81 yards in 12 plays over 6:23. It started with a 27-yard pass to Sam Mono (Joliet, Ill./Joliet) and ended with a two-run punch-in for Townsend.
It was a two-score game until Concordia Wisconsin's James Linn found Samuel Campbell for a 22-yard TD before halftime, putting the Falcons up 34-14 at the break.
Late in the fourth quarter, Durr forced Concordia Wisconsin's first turnover of the day by recovering a fumble at the 34. The Eureka offense then worked their way to the end zone and scored on a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Garard.
The Eureka defense next did its part, forcing the Falcons to settle for a 17-yard field goal on the next drive. When kicker Mason Kaschinske put it through the uprights, it made it 37-21 and the score remained the same until the end.
Now, the Red Devils will look to take the experience gained and fortitude forged throughout this spring into the offseason. The fall 2021 season is only a handful of months away.