GRINNELL, Iowa – For the first time in 15 years, Grinnell College's football team has bolted out to a 3-2 start to a season.
The Pioneers achieved that feat with ease on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon at Rosenbloom Field, thumping Knox College 31-7.
Grinnell, which beat the Prairie Fire for the second time in three years, shot out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first period while improving to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Midwest Conference. Knox fell to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the league.
Grinnell is 3-2 for the first time since 2011 and has three wins for the first time since 2014.
Will Weber '29 passed for a career-high 141 yards and the Pioneer defense gained three takeaways. Weber was 7-of-9 through the air and had a pair of scores, while
David Eisenberg '29 led the receiving attack with 45 yards.
Andre Lopez '30 and
Bennett Destino '27 each had TD snags. Lopez led the rushing offense with 70 yards and a score.
Defensively,
Luke Konczal '29 posted 13 tackles and a sack, while
Peyton Williams '27 added seven stops and a sack.
Cayden Beyer '30 contributed six tackles and
Hays Marionneaux '28 and
Rory Leonard '27 had five tackles each.
Grinnell showed it meant business from the start, taking the opening kickoff and driving 67 yards in nine plays. Weber had a 19-yard rush on the first play and completed a 25-yard pass to
Charlie Greene '28 before Lopez scored on a 1-yard run with 9:38 left in the quarter.
Ryan Feldman '29 kicked the point after.
Knox's opening drive lasted just a few plays before
Benton Tso '29 recovered a fumble deep in Prairie Fire territory. The Pioneers took advantage, as Weber hit Destino with a 20-yard scoring pass and Feldman booted the point after for a 14-0 lead.
It was more of the same for Knox on its next drive, as just two plays in the Prairie Fire coughed up the ball and Leonard jumped on top of it.
Neither team scored the rest of the half, but Grinnell began the third quarter with a bang when
Ajay Griffin '27 picked off a Knox pass two plays in and brought it 40 yards for a TD. Feldman's extra point made it 21-0. Feldman kicked a 37-yard field goal on Grinnell's next drive, making it 24-0 entering the final frame.
Weber hit Lopez with a 26-yard TD pass late in the game to make it 31-0 before Knox scored with just over a minute to go.
Grinnell plays at Illinois College next Saturday at noon.
