The Lawrence Vikings suffered another tough loss after a close football game last Saturday, Oct. 29 against the Beloit College Buccaneers. The Vikings fell to the Bucs 20-14.
The Vikings were the first to score when they put in junior wide receiver, quarterback, punter and holder Tyler Mazur. After rushing the ball down the field, Mazur connected with senior Jon Bruehl for a 36-yard catch. The Vikings couldn’t seem to manage a first down on Beloit’s one-yard line, so they lined up for a field goal on the fourth down. Instead of kicking, Lawrence ran a fake field goal and Mazur rushed for the final yard into the end zone for a Lawrence touchdown.
Beloit scored in the second quarter, but junior Jon Hope intercepted the ball at the LU 45-yard line and returned it to the Beloit 32-yard line with 27 seconds left in the half to set up the Vikings to score. Sophomore Luke Barthelmess completed a 32-yard pass to Bruehl for a touchdown, and junior Cody Robel’s kick attempt was good, ending the first half at 14-7.
Beloit scored again in the third and fourth quarter, but these times without a Lawrence response. The Viking offense failed to get close to the Buccaneer end zone in the second half, with the exception of their first drive in the fourth quarter. The Vikings moved the ball to Beloit’s 8 yard line, but Robel’s field goal attempt from the 25-yard line was wide left.
Barthelmess went 28-16 for 136 yards on Saturday at quarterback and had 59 yards rushing. Mazur went 2-1 for 36 yards and had 54 yards rushing. Mazur paced the Vikings for receiving with nine catches and 74 yards. Sophomore Shawn Martin had four catches for 15 yards and Bruehl had two catches for 68 yards.
Freshman Brandon Taylor led the Viking defense with eight tackles, followed closely by senior Mats Jonsson with seven. Hope had the only Viking interception of the game, and sophomore John Doran had a fumble recovery when a Beloit punt returner dropped the ball. Both sophomore Andy Paider and junior Matt Larsen had sacks, and sophomore Chris Moore and junior Larry Mikrut shared a sack.
The Vikings will be playing in their last game of the season this Saturday, Nov. 5 at Ripon College. The Ripon-Lawrence rivalry is the oldest football rivalry in Wisconsin, dating back to 1893. The rivalry has been brutal and passionately strong since the start, with sayings such as “Better dead than red,” and a quote from a Lawrentian writer in 1896: “Such playing will kill football. If Ripon or football must die, we are sorry, but it ought to be Ripon.”
Senior Ben Hartman said, “Ripon is the one game of the year that the whole team looks forward to and that we all want to win more than any other game, especially since it’s the last one of the season and the last game for the seniors. It’s going to be an old school smash-mouth football game!”
A win over Ripon would definitely shine a brighter light on the season and be a much better end to the seniors’ careers. Good luck, boys!