Weather doesn’t deter SNC from getting win
Lawrence racks up 162 yards receiving, two TDs

By SNC ATHLETICS
DE PERE – St. Norbert College battled Eureka University and a fierce cold front and held on for a 20-7 win in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) game at Schneider Stadium on Nov. 5.

The Green Knights and Red Devils found themselves in rapidly deteriorating weather conditions at the start of the second half, with heavy rains and strong wind leading to big losses for both teams in the third quarter.

St. Norbert (6-3, 5-2 NACC) got off to a good start when it scored on its first possession of the game on a 1-yard run from John Trinh, set up by a 42-yard pass from Richie Gilles to Parker Lawrence, with just 3:02 gone by in the game. The Green Knights held Eureka on the next possession after a missed field-goal attempt from 36 yards, and then scored again on a 65-yard touchdown from Gilles to Lawrence for a 13-0 lead with 2:17 left in the first quarter.

Eureka would score after a pass interference penalty and a 26-yard run by Ben Bernabei to the St. Norbert 1 set up a Peyton Doughty 1-yard run with 8:14 left in the second quarter. The Green Knights would hold their 13-7 lead into halftime.

As halftime ended, a strong cold front roared through De Pere bringing with it gale-force wind and heavy rain. Eureka would have a punt snap misplayed with St. Norbert taking over at the Red Devils’ 26-yard line. The Green Knights would then have a fourth-down snap lose 21 yards. St. Norbert held Eureka to a three-and-out, but a Green Knights’ punt snap would sail deep into their own territory, with a 40-yard loss setting Eureka up at the St. Norbert 10.

Bernabei tried ramming it home four times but was stopped for no gain on fourth down from the St. Norbert 2. The Green Knights were able to get the ball off their own goal line and punt into Eureka territory as the third quarter ended.

Another bad snap by Eureka set up the Green Knights at the Red Devils’ 40-yard line. The Green Knights cashed in with a valuable insurance touchdown when Gilles hit Parker Lawrence, who was spun around twice by a Eureka defender. Lawrence, on the Eureka 3-yard line, alertly lateraled the ball to a hustling Austin Miller, who romped into the end zone for the touchdown with 10:32 remaining.

St. Norbert stopped Eureka on the ensuing possession on a Joe Jung inteception at its own 18, and the Green Knights ran the final 7:04 off the clock.

The Green Knights outgained Eureka 234-142 in total offense, including St. Norbert’s losses of 62 yards on wild snaps from center. Lawrence caught four passes for 162 yards and one touchdown. Owen Kudick had 84 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Eureka was led by Bernabei, who had 62 rushing yards on 20 carries.

Michael Creighton paced the St. Norbert defense with 11 tackles and two tackles-for-loss. Tylre McCabe had eight tackles with two tackles-for-loss and a quarterback sack, while Drew Jurack had eight stops and one interception. Sam Barnett also had eight tackles. Jung had five stops with a fumble recovery and one interception.

St. Norbert will close out the regular season by hosting Concordia University Chicago on Nov. 12 at noon. The Cougars are 3-6, 2-5 NACC.