APPLETON, Wis. – After being shut down in the first half, the Grinnell College football team roared back in the second half of Saturday afternoon's contest at Lawrence University.
 
The Pioneers looked poised to potentially win a season opener for the first time since 2011, tying the contest in the fourth period. But a Lawrence score with 3:36 left in the game pushed the Vikings to a 20-13 win at the Banta Bowl.
 
Ryan Slager '19, the NCAA tackle leader the past two seasons, continued where he left off for Grinnell by recording a game-high 20 tackles. That gives him 467 career stops, moving him to second place on the Midwest Conference's all-time list.
 
Offensively, Max Hill '20 recorded a career-best 99 receiving yards on seven catches. He also had a touchdown, as did David Taylor '20. Jake Kaplinski '22 was sharp in his collegiate debut at quarterback, completing 18-of-34 passes for 210 yards and two scores. Daniel Carter '22 added 70 rushing yards for the Pioneers.
 
Grinnell finished with 300 total yards, just 15 shy of Lawrence.
 
The first half was all Lawrence, scoring seven points in the first quarter and getting two fields in the second quarter for a 13-0 halftime edge. The Pioneers got down to business late in the third quarter, putting together a seven-play, 96-yard scoring drive. Kaplinski had big completions of 32 yards to Hill and 18 yards to Will Borda '22 before hitting Taylor with a 32-yard TD strike. The extra point by Patrick Goldammer '22 made it 13-7 with 40 seconds left in the third period.
 
After a Lawrence punt, Grinnell put together another scoring drive. The seven-play, 72-yard series included a 36-yard pass to Hill and then an 11-yard TD strike to him. The extra point was blocked, leaving the score 13-all with 10:56 left in the game.
 
Both teams had drives stall after that before Lawrence scored late in the fourth period to secure the win.
 
Besides Slager's defensive prowess, Rick Johnson '20, Vinny Pavoni '19 and Sal Kargbo '22 each had seven tackles for Grinnell. Johnson added an interception and Chaz Del Mar '22 a fumble recovery.
 
Grinnell opens its home slate next Saturday when Trinity Bible College visits Rosenbloom Field for a 1 p.m. test.