The Carleton Knights appeared to have the game in hand. Junior quarterback Zach Creighton of Lakeville, Minn., scored with 4:39 to go in the game to give Carleton a 20-10 lead. They would lose however, 23-20.

Knox had a nice kickoff return to start the next drive at their 41-yard line, and they covered 59 yards in six plays in 40 seconds to set up more drama for the fans in Galesburg, Ill.

I remember saying I thought it was probably too soon to do an onside kick in the game with 3:32 to go, but that's exactly what the Prairie Fire did, and they executed it beautifully. The regular kicker lined up and another player on the front line came across and kicked the ball to the left sideline, pounding it into the artificial turf. The ball went high in the air over a couple of Carleton players' heads and was recovered cleanly by Knox on the Carleton 42-yard line.

Knox went 42 yards in four plays and only used 1:25 to do it, and the Knights must have been in shock after scoring with 4:39 to go in the game to go up by 10 points. Knox scored their 13 points in the span of 2:27 to win the game.

Carleton tried valiantly in the final two minutes, but a pick was thrown to seal the game.

Turnovers plagued Carleton again. Coach Bob Pagel told Power 96 before the game he wasn't happy with the turnovers in their 27-12 season-opening win over Macalester at Laird Stadium. That the Knights had an extra point blocked and a fumble when they were at the 5-yard line of Knox didn't help either.

Creighton attempted just 16 passes in the game and connected on nine of them as the Carleton running game amassed 299 yards on 45 carries. Senior Andy Gustafson of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., led the way with 180 yards on 17 carries and sophomore Tyler O'Keefe of Woodville, Wis., added 53 yards on 13 runs.

Knox opened the game with a seven-play, 63-yard drive that took just 3:45, capped by a 21-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Matt McCaffrey of Wilmette, Ill., to senior wideout Ilir Emini of Yorkville, Ill. The extra point was good and they were up 7-0.

Carleton responded with a 71-yard drive that took 12 plays and ended with a 1-yard dive by O'Keefe into the end zone. The extra point was blocked and Knox held on to a 7-6 lead.

The Prairie Fire scored with 1:56 to go in the half on a 34-yard field goal by freshman Wes Koerber of Norco, Calif., and the score at the half was 10-6, Knox leading.

Carleton took the lead with 13:40 to go in the game when freshman Logan Emholtz of River Falls, Wis., scored his first collegiate TD on a 7-yard run. Junior Brandt Davis of Luverne, Calif., connected on the extra point and the Knights were up 13-10. Knox missed a 32-yard field goal to tie the game and Carleton saw Creighton scamper for 16 yards and the Davis extra point kick was good to make it 20-10 with 4:39 to go in the contest.

Freshman linebacker Kwaku Bodom of Brooklyn Park, Minn., led the Knights in tackles again with nine and junior Dylan Saline of Anoka, Minn., tallied eight.

Knox had 21 first downs and Carleton 19. Knox amassed 135 yards on the ground and 282 through the air for 417 total yards, and at times it was just too easy. The Knights defense did a much better job most of the second half by blitzing more so McCaffrey didn't have as much time. Tackling was an issue for Carleton during stretches of the game. The Knights had 299 yards rushing and 54 yards passing for a 353-yard total.

Knox was nine of 17 in third down conversions, including a number of long third downs like 16 yards to go and 12 and 11 and eight yards to go.

The win for Knox snapped a four-game losing streak to Carleton. The Knights used to be in the Midwest Conference, so the game was the 37th meeting between the schools. The Prairie Fire victory was their first over Carleton since 1977.

Knox and Carleton are now 1-1 on the young season. Carleton jumps into MIAC Conference action next Saturday when they travel to Augsburg to face the Auggies, and Knox heads to Appleton, Wis., to play Lawrence University in a Midwest Conference tilt.

Coverage begins at 12:30PM Saturday on Power 96 Radio 95.9FM and on the Carleton College website with the next installment of the Carleton Coaches show. Kick-off is at 1PM.

Elsewhere in the MIAC Saturday, Hamline defeated Macalester 27-10, Luther downed St. Olaf 34-16, Concordia rolled over Wisconsin-Eau Claire 41-7, St. Thomas crushed Wisconsin-La Crosse 51-7, St. Johns clobbered Buena Vista 56-7, Augsburg dominated Concordia Wisconsin 54-21, Wartburg beat Bethel 24-14 in Arden Hills, Gustavus blanked Lake Forest College 49-0.

Knox College Press Box (note banks were on all sides)
Knox College Press Box (note banks were on all sides)
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