GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College's football team continued its recent dominance of Beloit College with a convincing victory on a cloudy and wet Saturday afternoon at Rosenbloom Field.
The Pioneers were solid in all phases of the game on their way to a 28-7 victory, Grinnell's sixth win over the Bucs in the last seven meetings.
The Pioneers' highlight came from the hands and feet of
Ajay Griffin '27, who picked off a pass at the 10-yard line and raced 90 yards for a touchdown. The return was the second-longest interception return in program history, and the longest since 1994.
Grinnell had three picks in the game, with
Rory Leonard '28 and
Hays Marionneaux '28 also getting one. Leonard also had a fumble recovery.
Will Weber '29 led the rushing attack with 78 yards and
Andre Lopez '30 picked up 59. On defense,
Luke Konczal '29 had 11 tackled,
Peyton Williams '27 came up with five and
Javi Rodriguez '28 and
Nolan Novak '29 had four each.
The Pioneers, 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Midwest Conference, opened the scoring on Weber's 16-yard TD run with 13:51 left in the second period. Marionneaux's interception at the Grinnell 47-yard line set up the drive.
Ryan Feldman '29 kicked the point after.
Beloit evened the score at 7-all on its next drive and was looking to do more damage when it drove deep into Pioneer territory.
That's when Griffin went to work, stepping in front of a receiver and grabbing a Beloit pass. He quickly scampered 90 yards down the left sideline for the score. The extra point was no good, leaving the score 13-7 at halftime.
A Beloit fumble recovered by Leonard set up Grinnell's third score as the hosts gained possession at the Beloit 39.
Hunter Jackson '27 had an 11-yard run on the ensuing series that was capped by Weber's 5-yard TD strike to
Charlie Greene '28 at the 8:40 mark.
Kingston Ross '29 scored on the two-pointer.
Beloit, 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the league, was forced to punt on its next drive that ended with a short kick. Grinnell's next series featured a 27-yard rush by Weber and 12-yard gain by
Caden Revelle '30 before Lopez scored from 9 yards out. Feldman kicked the point after.
Grinnell entertains Knox College next Saturday at Rosenbloom Field. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
