In front of a tremendous crowd of traveling Pioneer friends and family, a stellar defensive effort, including four first-half interceptions, was not enough for the Pioneers Saturday, as they dropped another road game
15 - 7 at Lake Forest.
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| Andrew Clark sets up the Pioneer offense with an interception return |
The Pioneers struck first as
Andrew Clark returned an interception inside the Forester five yard line.
Jacob Bernholtz punched it in from the one two plays later, and
Graham Fisher's extra point made it 7 - 0 Grinnell.
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| Seth Gustafson intercepts a Forester pass. |
Later in the half Lake Forest answered with a touchdown of their own to tie the game, and took the lead after stopping the Pioneers for a safety. In an unfortunate turn for the Pioneers,
Seth Gustafson stopped a promising Lake Forest drive with a very nice interception, and looked to have fallen into the end zone for a touchback. Instead the ball was spotted on the six inch line, and the Pioneers weren't able to advance it, giving up the safety.
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| Kevin Hwang prevents a touchdown with a second quarter interception |
The first half closed with the 9 - 7 score, after interceptions by
Kevin Hwang and
Colton Feller.
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| Colton Feller makes the final interception of the day |
The Foresters were able to add two more field goals to make it 15 - 7, heading into the final minutes of the game. With two minutes to go, the Pioneer offense finally mounted a serious threat into Lake Forest territory. Quarterback
TJ Goetz completed passes to
Emmi Sandoval,
Greg Ruzich,
Jake Meixler, and
Aamir Walton. The final completion brought the offense to just outside the 20, unfortunately they failed to convert a 4th and 6, and Lake Forest was able to kneel out the clock.
The Pioneers look forward to their home opener this Saturday, September 28, against Beloit College. The kickoff at Rosenbloom Field will be at 1:00 PM Central, and the game will be on the radio at
KGRN 1410, and webcast at
MWCTV .
