Red Devils Stop St. Norbert, Improve to 4-0 with 21-17 Win
EUREKA – For the second straight week, the Eureka football team withstood mounting pressure and delivered a game-winning defensive stand in the final seconds on its home turf.
With the game on the line, the Red Devils made four straight stops to secure a nail-biting, 21-17 victory over St. Norbert, to the awe and delight of the McKinzie Field faithful.
When it was all over, the Red Devils stood 4-0 for the first time since 2018.
"So proud of our guys," EC Coach Kurt Barth said. "The toughness and the resiliency that they've shown from Day 1 all through today is just phenomenal. They keep battling. They keep playing, doing the things they need to do and controlling the things that they can control.
"I am so gosh-darn proud of them and their effort."
With the Red Devils clinging to a four-point lead and less than 15 seconds left on the clock, the Green Knights found themselves at the two-yard line with four chances to punch in the game-winning score. All they had to do was get through one time and the Red Devils almost certainly wouldn't have an opportunity to answer.
The Eureka defense just refused to break.
First down went over top receiver Austin Miller's head. Second down was broken up by Malik Jones (Chicago, Ill. / Hubbard).
On third down, Eureka linebacker Austin Hopkins (Arcola, Ill./Arcola) chased quarterback Peyton Lyon and forced a low throw that fell incomplete once again. And, on fourth down, Hopkins bore down on Lyon again as the ball sailed out of his hand and into the back of the end zone.
Eureka quarterback Kaeden Frazier (Clarkston, Wash./Clarkston) took a final knee, and the celebration was on.
The Red Devils held a slim lead for the vast majority of the game, but the Green Knights took control for the first time when they scored a go-ahead touchdown with 8:27 left in the fourth quarter.
As it did a week ago, the maroon and gold's offensive unit put together what would end up being the final scoring drive of the game.
Frazier aired it out and found top target Sebastian Hill (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) for a 27-yard reception to put the Red Devils at the 15 with less than seven minutes left. Three plays later, with the ball at the 8, Frazier pitched it to Hill, and the junior raced to the edge and into the end zone.
Steven Bartkus' (Seneca, Ill./Seneca) extra point made it a four-point game with 4:50 remaining.
That set up St. Norbert's first chance to take the lead. The Green Knights drove 51 yards on eight plays, reaching the Eureka 24.
Then, for the second straight week, a Eureka defensive back came up with a crucial interception in the end zone. Last week, it was Jack Arnett (Princeville, Ill./Princeville) who stepped up and came through. On Saturday, it was senior David Hill (Elgin, Ill./St. Edwards Catholic).
The basketball player-turned-starting cornerback leapt for a pass intended for the right corner and hauled it in for his first career interception.
That gave the Red Devils a chance to run the clock and extend the lead. They were unable to move the chains, however, resulting in St. Norbert getting the ball back with 41 seconds to play and Eureka's final defensive heroics.
Eureka's defense held St. Norbert to 319 yards of total offense, including just 62 yards on the ground and 257 in the air.
Hill finished with a team-high and a career-high nine total tackles for the Red Devil defense. Arnett and fellow safety Hansen Johnson (Laplace, La./East St. John) each had seven tackles, with Arnett contributing a team-high four pass breakups and Johnson having one.
Garrett Wayne (Clinton, Ill./Clinton) and Brendan Durr (Washington, Ill./Washington) both had five total tackles, with Durr producing a key sack and forced fumble as well.
Offensively, Frazier threw for 197 yards and a touchdown with zero interceptions on 16-for-21 passing, completing a season-best 76.2 percent of his passes on the day.
After carrying the load with one of his best career performances against Rockford last week, fullback Ben Bernabei (Peru, Ill./St. Bede Academy) had another strong rushing day, posting 132 yards on 30 carries and scoring the Red Devils' first touchdown of the game in the first quarter.
The fifth-year senior completed a patient, 12-play, 65-yard drive that took nearly 6 1/2 minutes off the clock on the home team's first possession of the day.
Eureka forced the Green Knights to go three-and-out on theirs, but they got the ball back after a fumble on the kick return and scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Lyon to Mitch Van Vooren to tie it up.
In the second quarter, Durr's sack and forced fumble gave way to another big drive. This time, Eureka went 78 yards on nine plays and scored on a 32-yard touchdown reception by Austin Sweich (Fairbury, Ill./Prairie Central) – the first of his career.
Sweich was one of six EC players to catch a pass on Saturday. Hill tallied a team-high 84 yards on four catches, and Jack Butler (Tinley Park, Ill./Tinley Park) added six receptions for 56 yards.
Eureka led 14-7 at halftime and saw the Green Knights trim the lead to three with a field goal in the third quarter before taking the lead for less than four minutes in the fourth.
Saturday was Eureka's first win in three all-time meetings with St. Norbert. With the win, Eureka became the first team in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference to improve to 2-0 in league play this season.
Next week, the Red Devils (4-0, 2-0 NACC) will take on perennial power Aurora (3-0, 1-0) on the road at 1 p.m.
