Eureka Bounces Back, Tops Cougars, 27-13
EUREKA — After a tough loss last week, the Eureka football team bounced back with a 27-13 triumph at Concordia Chicago on Saturday.
With the win, the Red Devils improved to 2-1 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play and 2-3 on the season.
Junior quarterback Lukas Tinkham (Abingdon, Ill./Abingdon-Avon) tallied a season-high 166 passing yards on 9-for-15 passing and rushed for an 11-yard score after coming in early in the second quarter.
Senior receiver Pierce Bradford (Decatur, Ill./Argenta-Oreana) led the team in receiving yards with five catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. Fellow star wideout Sebastian Hill (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) added 95 receiving yards on eight catches.
Ben Bernabei (Peru, Ill/ St. Bede Academy) led EC's rushing attack, with 10 attempts for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Freshman quarterback Noah Berlett (Washington, Ill./Washington) started the game off strong with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Bradford on the first drive of the game, giving the Red Devils an early 6-0 lead.
The Cougars evened the score with a 10-play, 85-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Troy Pratley to DeAndre Daniels early in the second quarter.
After a couple of unsuccessful drives, the Red Devils regained the lead after putting together their own long drive. With Tinkham at shotgun, the team drove from their own 13 to the end zone, scoring on one-yard run by Bernabei.
Early in the third quarter, Eureka extended the lead to 14 points with a 19-yard touchdown run by Angel Garica (Elgin, Ill./Larkin/Concordia Chicago).
However, two drives later, Concordia Chicago made it a seven-point game after completing another long drive. It stayed that way until Tinkham's 11-yard touchdown with 6:24 left in the game. The Red Devils' defense then closed the door with a pair of big stops before time ran out.
Chuck Weathersby (Kankakee, Ill./Kankakee) and Brendan Durr (Washington, Ill. / Washington), led the way defensively, notching a team-high nine total tackles. Weathersby had seven solos and Durr had 6, as well as a sack. Austin Hopkins (Arcola, Ill. / Arcola) followed with 8 tackles, including four solos, and Donovan Hathaway (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) and Bryson Smith (Cisco, Ill./Monticello) each had six.
Troy Pratley completed 16 of 26 passes for 129 yards one touchdown and ran for 15 yards and one touchdown. The Cougars' leading rusher was Daniels, who had 59 yards.
Eureka (2-3, 2-1 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference) will look to keep up the momentum next week when the Red Devils travel to Concordia Wisconsin (4-1, 2-1 NACC). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.