COURTESY OF SNC ATHLETICS
GALESBURG, ILLINOIS – The St. Norbert College football team fashioned its second consecutive shutout with a 34-0 win over Knox College in a non-conference game Sept. 29 at the Knosher Bowl.
The Green Knights (3-1), who last posted back-to-back shutouts on Oct. 7-14, 2017, took control with a 14-point first quarter and only allowed the Prairie Fire (0-4) one red zone opportunity.
On its second possession, St. Norbert needed five plays to score when Drew Rhodes found Nate Ihlenfeldt up the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown pass. The Green Knights then took advantage of a short field on their next series, needing 10 plays to march 39 yards, capped by a 1-yard plunge from Brandon Dudley for a 14-0 lead with 2:34 left in the first quarter.
Spenser Thompson-Meyers connected on field goals of 21 and 30 yards in the second quarter to give St. Norbert a 20-0 halftime lead.
Knox had its best-sustained possession of the game in the second quarter, traversing 75 yards over 14 plays, but Jesus Flores’ 36-yard field goal attempt was short.
St. Norbert scored on its first series of the third quarter, going 53 yards over seven plays with Rhodes hitting Samuel Staehling for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 11:32 left in the period. Neither team would mount a scoring threat until late in the game when Rhodes scampered eight yards for the game’s final points with 3:21 to go.
The Green Knights outgained the Prairie Fire 405-151 in total offense. Rhodes completed 14 of 28 passes for 165 yards and also rushed for a team-high 81 yards on 16 carries. Jadon Sackman added 67 yards on 10 carries. Staehling caught five passes for 37 yards, while Ihlenfeldt had four receptions for 84 yards.
Knox’s Grant Graham completed 13 of 25 passes for 122 yards. Knox, which rushed for 27 yards, had just nine first downs.
Matt Gurgone and Matt Barrett led St. Norbert defensively with 10 tackles apiece. Gurgone had 2 1/2 tackles-for-loss and a quarterback sack. Kordell Draves had seven stops and a forced fumble, while Mike Olijnyk had seven tackles with an interception.
Box score
St. Norbert: 14, 6, 7, 7 – 34
Knox: 0, 0, 0, 0 – 0