Eureka Football Eager for NACC Opener at Rockford
EUREKA – The Eureka football team is headed to familiar territory this weekend: NACC country.
On Saturday at 1 p.m., Eureka is opening the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play against league foe Rockford.
Unlike the past two weekends, when the Red Devils were taking on new opponents for the first time, the Red Devils have a much better idea of what to expect going in this weekend.
"We are expecting a tough and talented team to come after us," EC coach Kurt Barth said. "Just in the time (Rockford head coach) JT Zimmerman has been there, they've always been a hard-nosed group that keeps coming at you, and we expect the same thing.
"Those guys, you know, are always going to play hard. They're always going to fight until the end."
For the Red Devils, the best example of this came at the end of the 2019 season. Hosting an accomplished Eureka squad led by its winningest class in program history, Rockford made Eureka earn it on the last day of the season.
After the Red Devils took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Regents responded and kept the game within 10 points the rest of the way, twice coming within two points. Eureka had to score 21 points in the fourth to seal the victory.
This weekend, the Red Devils will be vying for their fourth straight win over the Regents, and they'll be doing so against a Rockford team that has had a strong start to the season.
In Week 1, Rockford drummed Grinnell 48-13 and quarterback Jaelan Ray set a school record for completed passes with 31 on 37 attempts. His 402 passing yards, four touchdowns and 83.7 percent completion percentage were all second in school history. He was subsequently named NACC Offensive Player of the Week.
The following week, the Regents showed off their explosive offense again, but fell to a quality Greenville team, 57-42. This time, Ray threw for 395 yards and five touchdowns – tying the school record – while also running for a score. Top target Joey Owens hauled in eight passes for 147 yards and had three touchdown receptions, tying the school record.
Coming in to this week, Ray is second in NCAA Division III in passing yards with 797 and fourth in passing yards per game at 398.50. Owens is second in the nation in receiving yards with 332 on 20 receptions.
The Red Devils are coming in 0-2 following a lopsided 69-20 loss on the road at Nebraska Wesleyan and a more closely contested 42-23 loss against Olivet at home last weekend.
Despite the unsatisfactory scores, Barth believes the two tough non-conference tests have put the Red Devils in a good position for conference play.
"The non-conference season is what it is," Barth said, "but what matters now is the next eight games that we have in conference, and we have to get ready for that. Going into Rockford, we feel good. We're fairly healthy. We've been tested to our depths and limits in Weeks 1 and 2, and our guys have played well.
"You look at scores and sometimes that can be a little misleading, but there's always some good things you can take out of those games."
Against Olivet, the Red Devils failed to execute at a couple of pivotal times during the game's early going, and the Comets seized the opportunity to take the upper hand for the rest of the way. Take those two or three plays away, Barth says, it's a whole different game. After the first quarter, Eureka outscored Olivet 23-21
"If we just make them earn it a little bit more, that's a tighter game," he said. "Overall, I was very happy with the way our guys kept competing against Olivet. That was a very, very good football team.
"We had some critical fourth-down stops defensively. I thought overall that we really bounced back defensively and had a strong day."
Offensively, the team didn't put up huge numbers and wasn't as efficient as it would have liked, but Eureka managed to limit its turnovers and it made some key plays in the passing game when it had the opportunity.
Top receiver Pierce Bradford made two highlight-reel grabs and finished with five catches for 89 receiving yards and a touchdown. He's currently 17th in the nation in receiving yards on the season with 246 on 13 catches, all courtesy of quarterback Nathan Garard.
Malek Folston, who switched from defensive back to receiver this fall, scored his first touchdown as a Red Devil. Freshman Cedric Hopkins scored his first collegiate touchdown, and junior Kobe Newman added three catches, as well.
The Red Devils were missing promising freshman receiver Sebastian Hill due to a family wedding, and they have other weapons on the bench waiting for a chance to contribute, too.
This week, the team is looking to find balance and re-establish its identity with its running game, which hasn't produced the numbers the team has become accustomed to over the past seven years or so.
"The final piece," Barth said, "is we've got to get some things shored up on our kickoff return team and special teams. Whether it's limited return yardage or fumbling kickoffs and fumbling the catches, we've got to get that cleaned up. And once we do, I think we can be effective."
The Red Devils also saw highlights in the squad's special team unit. Freshman kicker Steven Bartkus converted his first collegiate field goal – a 30-yarder that helped keep the Red Devils in the game before halftime. He also averaged 58.8 yards per kickoff and had two touchbacks.
Sam Bartels punted for 430 yards on nine punts, contributing two touchbacks and a long of 79 yards. The sophomore is currently second in the nation in punt yards with 563 on 14 attempts while averaging 40.21 yards per punt. In addition, he contributed a key first down run on a fake punt.
The Red Devils' challenging first two weeks of the season contain other quiet success stories as well. This past weekend, for instance, freshman offensive lineman Jeffrey Goble got a chance to come in during the third quarter and contribute to Eureka's seasoned offensive line. The Red Devils scored on the drive, which helped keep the game competitive.
This weekend, the Red Devils are looking forward to welcoming back several players who have been sidelined thus far, including linebackers Brendan Durr and Mason Diederich and tight end Gabe Newlin.
The team is also hoping to have three players who have been out with long-term injuries – offensive linemen Hugo Garza and Jake Benninger and defensive back Daetayvian Woodson – back in the mix soon as well.
It's another reason for Eureka to be optimistic about what is to come.
"I'm sure there's people thinking 'they're off to an 0-2 start; let's throw dirt on them,' and it's way too soon for that," Barth said. "There's plenty of good, there's plenty of bad to take away as well, but the sky is not falling on us. We just have to continue to keep moving forward and keep progressing to get better."