Benedictine Pulls Away from Eureka, 41-21

LISLE, Ill. – The Eureka football team couldn't keep pace with Benedictine on the road on Saturday, falling 41-21.

Eureka running back Angel Garcia (Elgin, Ill./Larkin/Concordia Chicago) recorded a season-high 99 rushing yards and scored a career-high three touchdowns, but the Eagles pulled away from the Red Devils in the second half after a close, back-and-forth first half.

Wide receiver Alex Glover (Bethalto, Ill./Civic Memorial) notched a career-high 73 receiving yards on five catches, while quarterback Kaeden Frazier (Clarkston, Wash./Clarkston) threw for 133 yards on 14-of-22 passing with one interception.

Brendan Durr (Washington, Ill./Washington) led the Red Devils with nine total tackles. Christian Miller (Mackinaw, Ill./Deer Creek-Mackinaw) followed with eight, while Austin Hopkins (Arcola, Ill./Arcola) added six and Jack Arnett (Princeville, Ill./Princeville), David Hill (Elgin, Ill./St. Edwards Catholic), Billy Nelson (Portland, Ore./Evergreen) and Donovan Hathaway (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) each had five.

The Red Devils were right there early on. They had a good opportunity to strike first when they drove to the 5-yard line midway through the first quarter, but Frazier got picked off in the end zone by Benedictine's Joshua Coats.

The Eagles scored on a two-yard pass from Nathan Rillo to Dylan Sigel on 4th and 2 in the ensuing possession to take a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Eureka answered on the next drive, going 73 yards on nine plays that included a 28-yard reception on fourth by Austin Swiech (Fairbury, Ill./Prairie Central) to put the Red Devils on the 10 and a 2-yard touchdown run by Garcia.

Durr then forced a fumble on the Eagles' next play to give the visitors the ball back at their 47. They then marched into Eagles' territory and Frazier connected with Glover on a one-handed grab for a 29-yard pickup that put the Red Devils at the 8. That led to Garcia's second trip to the end zone, a three-yard rush up the middle that gave Eureka the advantage. Steven Bartkus (Seneca, Ill./Seneca) made it 14-7 with 7:33 left in the first half.

It ended up being the Red Devils' last lead of the game, as Benedictine came back and tied the game less than a minute and a half later and regained the lead before halftime after an EC three-and-out.

The Eagles led by seven at the half and extended it to a two-score lead on the first drive of the second half. They scored twice more in the third quarter to make it 41-14.

The Red Devils made it a 20-point game with a 19-yard touchdown rush up the middle by Garcia with 3:48 left in the third quarter. The score remained 41-21 the rest of the way.

Benedictine quarterback Eva Wydajewski finished with 306 passing yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-17 passing. Sigel recorded 78 rushing yards on seven attempts and had one rushing touchdown, while Nick Shelton racked up 106 receiving yards and one touchdown on five catches.

Next Saturday, Eureka (4-5, 2-5 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference) will look to finish the 2023 season strong in a 1 p.m. season finale at Lakeland (3-6, 2-5 NACC).