Olivet Bests Red Devils, 54-14

OLIVET, Mich. – The Eureka football team had a tough time getting anything going at Olivet on Saturday.

The Red Devils fell to the Comets in Week 2 of non-conference action, 54-14.

Olivet got off to a red-hot start, putting up 28 points in the first quarter and tallying 42 in the first half alone.

The Red Devils' got on the board late in the third-quarter after Peyton Doughty (Cincinnati, Ohio/Newton) completed a 12-play, 54-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run. It was the senior running back's second career touchdown and his first since scoring during his freshman year in 2018.

Late in the fourth quarter, Leetrez Smith (Palatka, Fla./Palatka) notched his first career touchdown on a two-yard run that ended a six-play, 54-yard drive with eight seconds left.

Smith finished with a team-high 50 rushing yards on eight attempts, recording a long of 24 yards.

Ben Bernabei (Peru, Ill./St. Bede Academy) contributed 27 on nine carries and Doughty had 21 on nine. Quarterbacks Noah Berlett (Washington, Ill./Washington) and Lukas Tinkham (Abingdon, Ill./Abingdon-Avon) combined to complete 12 of 26 passes for 115 passing yards and one interception.

Olivet did most of its damage with its running game, ripping off 473 rushing yards on 33 attempts. Dontal Wright led the way, racking up 191 yards on just four carries and scoring three times. Four other Comets scored rushing touchdowns, and three had over 50 yards.

Olivet quarterback Evan Ormsby tallied 103 passing yards and had one touchdown on 5-for-9 passing.

Defensively, Brendan Durr (Washington, Ill./Washington) notched a team-high nine total tackles for the Red Devils. Andrew Peters (Kissimmee, Fla./Poinciana), Jack Arnett (Princeville, Ill./Princeville) and Donovan Hathaway (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) each had four.

Eureka will look to bounce back next week when the Red Devils (0-2) open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play against Rockford (1-1) at McKinzie Field.