GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College's football team gave up a few quick scores, but after that played toe-to-toe with Knox College in the Prairie Fire's 28-7 victory Saturday afternoon at Rosenbloom Field.
Grinnell's
Ryan Slager '19 continued his march towards the NCAA Division III record for career tackles, coming up with 19 stops to boost his total to 543. That passed Casey McConnell of Kenyon College for second place on the list, putting Slager just two away from tying the mark of 545 by Kyle McGivney of Luther College.
Slager also has 239 solo tackles in his career, which is eighth in D-III.
Anthony Johnson '22 had a career-high 10 tackles and
Hassan Thompson '19 made eight stops and now ranks 27th in Pioneer history with 209 career tackles.
Vinny Pavoni '19 added seven stops and is 30th on Grinnell's career list with 201, while
Sal Kargbo '22 added a career-high seven as did
Jeff Keele '19.
Offensively,
Dustin Saia '22 had career highs of 10 pass receptions and 72 yards, while
Will Borda '22,
Daniel Carter '22 and
David Taylor '20 each had three catches. Carter's tally was a career high, as was
Jake Kaplinski's '22 pass completion total of 21. He threw for 170 yards.
Knox, 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the Midwest Conference South Division, missed a field goal on its first drive but then scored on a blocked punt and 12-play offensive series to go up 14-0 by the end of the first period.
Grinnell drove deep into Knox territory midway through the second period, reaching the 24-yard line before giving the ball up on downs. The Prairie Fire were up 21-0 at halftime before the Pioneers went to work on their first drive of the third period.
Grinnell, 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the MWC South, ground out a 16-play, 72-yard series that included passes of 10 yards to Saia, 12 and 10 yards to Borda and 16 yards to Carter. Kaplinski then hit
Max Hill '20 with a 6-yard scoring strike with 2:41 left in the period.
Patrick Goldammer's '22 point after kick was good, making it 21-7.
But that's all the offense Grinnell could get, and the Prairie Fire added an insurance TD in the fourth period to secure the win.
The Pioneers are back at Rosenbloom Field next Saturday with a test against Lake Forest College. Kickoff is at noon instead of the usual 1 p.m.
