The Vikings played last Saturday, Nov. 5, against Knox college in another well-played game. The Vikes’ overall standing is 3-6 and 2-5 in the Midwest Conference, while Knox has 2-7 and 2-5. Lawrence came out strong the first quarter, with a 19-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Cam Boerm to bring the score to 7-0. Knox’s Quinn Sharp intercepted a pass and tied the score with a touchdown, but the Vikes came back at the beginning of the second with Freshman and Quarterback Philip Santiago’s score on a one-yard run during a 48-yard drive for a 14-7 lead.
In the third quarter, the game took a turn for the worse. Knox pulled ahead, with 19 unanswered points to change the score to 26-14 by the end of the quarter. The Vikings returned with a 13-yard pass to Boerm, 26-21. But Malik Hamilton, of Knox, caught a 15-yard throw, making the score 33-21 with Knox leading. We continued to fight, coming in with another 13 plays and 81 yards for a touchdown culminating with a one-yard drive by Santiago, lessening the gap to 33-27. The Viking defense forced a punt and regained possession of the ball at midfield, but Knox came in with a sack and an interception on the following two plays to make the winning score 33-27.
Knox’s quarterback Matt McCaffrey ran 19 times for 52 yards, and completed 17 of 25 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Santiago completed 17 of 33 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns for Lawrence. He had two interceptions, but carried the ball 16 times for 97 yards with a pair of scores as well. Boerm also completed with six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns. When asked about the game junior and defensive back Cullen Ellis stated, “We came out flat at the end of the first half, but we ended up at least rallying for the second half which gave us a better chance to win.” Ellis also said that the defense “will be working on being quicker on the field, and moving together to get the plays out and be ready with a fast tempo.”
Hopefully with this extra practice the Vikings will be able to come back in their last game against R**** on Saturday, Nov. 12. The team played well overall against Knox, working together to push through the toughest parts of the game.
