Last weekend saw the Lawrence football team driving all the way down to Grinnell, Iowa to face off against the Grinnell College Pioneers in a Midwest Conference match at Rosenbloom Field. The Vikings came into the contest with a three-game losing streak but had shown marked improvement throughout the beginning of the season. While they scored seven points in their competition against Cornell College, they scored thirteen a week later at Monmouth, and twenty-two against the University of Minnesota-Morris on Sept. 23.
The match against the University of Minnesota-Morris also saw two Lawrence players picking up Midwest Conference honors as Aidan Williams and Jacob Stanley were both named Midwest Conference Player of the Week. Williams, a sophomore quarterback from San Jose, Calif., had 245 passing yards and secured two touchdowns to garner Offensive Player of the Week while Stanley, a junior safety from Harvard, Ill., had a career-high thirteen tackles to take home Defensive Player of the Week.
Unfortunately, this momentum would not continue against the Pioneers, who picked up a victory against Beloit College two weeks prior. It was an eventful opening quarter with the Pioneers making the first touchdown early on. The Vikings fought back shortly thereafter, with Alex Lippert catching a 26-yard touchdown pass to tie up the score. Grinnell quickly responded with two more touchdowns, bringing the first quarter to a close with a 20-7 lead. The Vikings wouldn’t score again until the last ten minutes of the first half with a field goal by Ben Blumenthal. With just a few minutes left in the half, Grinnell’s quarterback made a 38-yard touchdown pass to cement their lead going into the third quarter. The Pioneers scored once again after halftime to bring their lead to 34-10. The Vikings fought back in the final quarter, moving 95 yards in seven plays. Williams completed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Lippert, which brought the final score to 34-16 Grinnell.
Lawrence football has a busy season ahead of them, with a match against Lake Forest College on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. at Farwell Field in Lake Forest, Ill. A livestream link will be available on Lake Forest College’s athletic website. For those interested in in-person games, Lawrence football will host Beloit College on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 21 at 11 a.m., both at the Banta Bowl.