GALESBURG, Ill. — Clinging to a three-point lead in the final minute, the Knox College football team secured a homecoming victory at the Knosher Bowl when junior cornerback Colin Finnigsmier picked off a pass in the end zone with 44 seconds remaining, leaving the Prairie Fire (2-3, 2-2 Midwest Conference) on the right side of a 20-17 score against visiting Grinnell (1-4, 1-3 MWC).
Knox never trailed on this day, and opened up a 20-10 advantage with 8:37 left in the game on a 1-yard dive into the end zone by junior Izayiah Hawes, capping a 15-play, 76-yard drive that gobbled up more than eight minutes. And when sophomore safety Jalen Brown came up with a huge tackle at the line of scrimmage on a 4th-and-1 play on the ensuing Pioneer drive at the Grinnell 34 with 6:50 remaining, it looked like the Prairie Fire would waltz to victory.
But the dance card wasn't quite filled yet as Grinnell got a 4th-down stop of its own after senior quarterback Reese Miller had run for eight yards, one yard shy of the marker. Four plays later, David Eisenberg hauled in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Bailey, closing the gap to three once again with 3:27 still on the clock.
Knox bet on an onside kick coming its way, but the Pioneers kicked it deep, and Knox ended up starting on its own 5-yard line. Three runs later and two yards short, the Prairie Fire were forced to punt, and Grinnell took over the Knox 41 with 2:18 to go.
An incomplete pass and four rushes pushed the Pioneers all the way down to the Knox 8-yard line, but on 2nd-and-goal, Bailey threw into the end zone, only for the ball to find Finnigsmier who secured the throw for the game's only turnover and the homecoming triumph.
Miller scored the first points of the game on a 1-yard keeper, thanks in part to an illegal substitution penalty (12 men on the field) that negated a blocked field goal, though with that block in the back of the mind of the Knox kicker, the PAT sailed wide right. Grinnell responded with a 26-yard field goal, and the score remained at 6-3 at the intermission.
Knox opened the second half taking up nearly eight minutes by marching 67 yards in 13 plays, the last being a 5-yard scamper by Miller for his second touchdown of the afternoon. The Pioneers kept their spirits up by responding with a 68-yard touchdown drive with Bailey connecting with Vincent Shen from 8 yards out, leading to Knox's longer scoring drive for what turned out to be the winning points.
- Grinnell had a slight edge in total yards (307-289), but time of possession was a lopsided affair with the Prairie Fire having the ball for more than 37 minutes.
- Miller finished the day 10-of-18 passing the ball for 122 yards and ran for 56 yards on 20 carries with the two TDs.
- Hawes led the Prairie Fire running game with 66 yards on the ground on 20 carries.
- The 10 completions match the most thrown by Knox since connecting on 12 passes against Beloit three years ago.
- Brown led the Prairie Fire defense with eight tackles, while Grinnell's Luke Konczal recorded 20 stops.
Knox has its next two games on the road with a trip to Illinois College (3-2, 2-2 MWC) next Saturday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m. The Blueboys suffered a 48-15 defeat at Monmouth today, their worst loss since a 49-14 defeat in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Division III playoffs. The game will be streamed live with live stats also available through the official website of Knox College Athletics, PrairieFire.Knox.edu, courtesy of Illinois College.