Eureka Notches 38-13 Homecoming Triumph Over Cougars

EUREKA – For the eighth time in the past 10 years, the Eureka football team are Homecoming victors.

The Red Devils took down Concordia Chicago, 38-13, on a wild, rainy day at McKinzie Field in the 42nd known Homecoming battle in Eureka history. Eureka is now 2-3 on the season and 2-1 in the North Athletics Collegaite Conference.

Sophomore quarterback Lukas Tinkham (Abingdon, Ill./Abingdon-Avon) threw for a career-high 308 passing yards with five touchdowns in his second career start in maroon and gold. Freshman wide receiver Sebastian Hill (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) hauled in three catches for 149 yards and scored all three times.

Fellow freshman wideout Cedric Hopkins (Longview, Texas/Longview) tallied three receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown.

The Red Devils conceded the first touchdown of the game and trailed 6-0 after the first quarter, but the team turned it around with a 17-point second quarter.

Hill put Eureka on the board with an electrifying 93-yard touchdown reception from Tinkham midway through the second frame.

Then, Hill scored on a 32-yard touchdown pass with 2:28 remaining until halftime.

Sam Bartels' (Jerseyville, Ill./Jersey Community) 20-yard field goal before halftime made it 17-6.

The Cougars struck first in the second quarter, but Tinkham connected with Hopkins on a 74-yard catch-and-run for a score with less than five minutes in the third and Hill scored on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Tinkham with 10 seconds remaining.

The Red Devils' last score came on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ben Bernabei (Peru, Ill./St. Bede Academy) early in the fourth.