Red Devils Fall Short Against Wisconsin Lutheran, 51-35
EUREKA – The Eureka football team couldn't quite put it all together against Wisconsin Lutheran on Senior Night on Saturday.
After a great start, the Red Devils fell behind in the third quarter and ultimately lost 51-35.
Sophomore wide receiver Sebastian Hill (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) hauled in six catches for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Senior receiver Pierce Bradford (Decatur, Ill./Argenta-Oreana) also had six catches for 74 yards and two scores.
Freshman quarterback Noah Berlett (Washington, Ill./Washington) took over for starter Lukas Tinkham (Abingdon, Ill./Abingdon-Avon) in the fourth quarter and racked up 191 yards on 10-of-18 passing and posted two touchdowns and one interceptions. Tinkham threw for three touchdowns and had one interception.
Seniors Brendan Durr (Washington, Ill./Washington) and Donovan Hathaway (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) each led the defense with nine total tackles. Austin Hopkins (Arcola, Ill./Arcola) followed with seven total tackles and fellow linebacker Chuck Weathersby had six as well, including one for loss.
Kavion Nichols (White Haven, Fla./Apopka) also had a standout performance in the secondary. He tallied six total tackles, had a pass breakup and came up with two big interceptions in the first half.
Senior Alexander Brittain (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) added four tackles and made a fumble recovery.
The first quarter was all Red Devils.
Eureka got on the board first with a five-yard touchdown pass from Tinkham to Bradford early in the first quarter. The reception was Bradford's 100th in his career, tying him for fifth all-time in program history. He is now fourth all-time in program history in receptions with 105, surpassing Alex Hess (2009-11), Andy Craig (2002-04) and Brett Burkitt (1998-01) during the game.
Tinkham connected with Bradford for a 13-yard touchdown on Eureka's next drive to make it 14-0.
Wisconsin Lutheran responded with touchdowns in the second quarter. The first was a 33-yard run by running back Justin Parbs early. The second was a 14-yard touchdown pass from Nate Griffith to Carter Schneider with 7:33 left until halftime.
Nichols came up big with interceptions on the next two drives by the warriors. The second set up good field position for the offense, and the Red Devils capitalized, with Tinham finding Hill in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
The Red Devils went into halftime with a 21-14 lead, but a rough third quarter that featured three Wisconsin Lutheran touchdowns and little offensive movement for Eureka turned the tide.
Eureka scored twice in the last 10 minutes, but the Red Devils were out of striking distance by then.
The Red Devils (2-6-, 2-4 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference) will head to Lakeland (1-6, 1-4 NACC) next Saturday for Week 9. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
