MWC Play for Buccaneers Begins at St. Norbert
Beloit College Buccaneers (0-1, 0-0 MWC)
at St. Norbert College Green Knights (0-1, 0-0 MWC)
Saturday, September 10, 2011, 1:00 p.m.
Donald J. Schneider Stadium, De Pere, Wisconsin
Game Notes
Conference Openers: This is the second straight season the Bucs open Midwest Conference play against St. Norbert, last season coming in Beloit. They've opened with the Green Knights five times in the last ten seasons, with SNC holding a 4-1 edge in those contests.
Beloit has won two straight Conference openers for the first time since the 1994 and 1995 seasons. Overall they are 8-17 in Conference lid-lifters over the last 25 seasons.
Throwin' It: Senior QB Brian Maughn, with his 340-yard effort last Saturday at Chicago, has thrown for 300-plus yards in nine career career games, five times over the last 11 games.
Catchin' It: On the other end of Maughn's throws, senior WR Derek Carrier now has nine 100-yard receiving games to his credit after his 160 last Saturday night. Seven of those games have come in the last 11 played.
Notes from Chicago: Senior TE Brian Fayer caught two passes for a career-best 72 yards while scoring his first collegiate TD, a touchdown with got the Bucs on the board in the last minute of the opening quarter on Saturday…The top of the Defensive chart for Beloit had plenty of new faces, with sophomore DT Athi Selvendran leading the way with eight stops. Junior LB Zach Bock and sophomore DB Will Mack each had seven. Bock and Mack both also had interceptions, each stopping a Chicago drive in Beloit territory. Sophomore DB Kenny Williams also had an interception, his coming at the BC 1 to thwart another drive.
The Series: The Buccaneers and Green Knights are meeting for the 28th time in a series SNC leads 17-10. Beloit snapped an 11-game St. Norbert winning streak in the series with their win last season at Strong Stadium. SNC has won 11 of the last 15. The series began in 1984 with a 15-13 Buccaneer win in De Pere. The Bucs are looking for back-to-back victories over the Green Knights for the first time since the 1997 and 1998 seasons.
Buccaneers Last Time Out: Beloit dropped a 44-25 decision at historic Stagg Field at the University of Chicago last Saturday night to open their 2011 season. The Maroons built an early lead with a pair of scoring passes in the opening 12 minutes. Beloit got on the board and cut the lead in half when Brian Maughn hit Brian Fayer on a 53-yard scoring play 33 seconds before the end of the opening quarter. Chicago built their lead to three scores in the first five minutes of the second quarter on a pair of short runs before the Buccaneers cut into the deficit when Maughn connected with Derek Carrier on a 60-yard scoring play at 7:28 for the final scoring of the half. UC led 28-14 at the break. The teams traded field goals in the third quarter, Chicago getting a 22-yarder at the 13:51 mark before Mat Kahl answered four-plus minutes later with a 23-yarder to make the score 31-17 through three. The Maroons pulled away in the fourth quarter with a pair of rushing TDs to go up 44-17 with 4:27 left. Beloit had one last drive as Maughn took it himself, scoring on a four-yard run with 18 seconds remaining to close out the scoring. Maughn finished 22-43 with two interceptions for 340 yards and two scoring passes. Derek Carrier had eight catches for 160 yards and a score. On defense, Athi Selvendran led the team with eight tackles while Will Mack and Zach Bock both had seven. Mack and Bock both had interceptions, as did Kenny Williams, while Brian Flanagan had the team's lone sack.
Last Time vs. the Green Knights: Mat Kahl kicked a 22-yard field goal with six seconds left to give Beloit a 34-31 win over St. Norbert College at Strong Stadium on September 11, 2010, their first victory over the Green Knights since the 1998 season. The Bucs went seven plays for 65 yards in 47 seconds after SNC had tied the game up with a 29-yard field goal by Roger Nault at the 53-second mark. The Buccaneers jumped out to a 14-0 lead less than nine minutes into the game. Brian Maughn hit Julian Ross with a 30-yard scoring pass six minutes in and then, after Vince Salucci intercepted a pass on the Green Knight's first play from scrimmage, Terence Steward rushed in from 20 yards away with 6:48 left in the opening quarter. SNC got on the board at the 3:53 mark when Bryan Stoppenbach scored from two yards away to make it 14-7. Beloit answered that score at the 12:35 mark of the second quarter on a Maughn to Derek Carrier 20-yard scoring play. SNC pulled back to within a touchdown with 1:19 remaining in the half on a 36-yard Rob Berger to Logan Krueger pass but, the Bucs had the last word of the half when Kahl kicked a 37-yard field goal at the buzzer, making it 24-14, Beloit, at the break. St. Norbert cut the lead to 24-21 at 8:11 of the third on a 14-yard Berger to Joe Green pass for the only scoring of the quarter. Back-and-forth possessions dominated the next 20 minutes of play until Berger hit Green from seven yards out to give the Green Knights a 28-24 advantage with 3:06 left. The Buccaneers answered quickly, less than a minute later, when Maughn hit Odin Grina on a 69-yard scoring pass to give the lead back to Beloit at 31-28 with 2:07 left, setting up the hectic final minute. Maughn was 28-36 for 357 with one interception and the three TDs for the Bucs. Carrier and Grina each had 108 receiving yards while Ross had 102 on his team-leading nine catches. Terence Steward rushed for 106 yards on 15 carries. John Weninger rushed for 112 yards on 26 carries for the Green Knights while Berger was 14-21 for 155 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Krueger had 75 yards receiving and Green 58. Defensively for the Bucs Tony Baratti had 14 total tackles while Michael Underwood, who also had a drive-ending interception in the end zone, had nine stops.
Up Ahead for the Bucs: The Bucs hit the brand new home turf for the first time on September 17, when they host Carroll University in a MWC game at 6:00 p.m. in Strong Stadium. The night also includes the official dedication of the field turf, installed this past Summer, as well as the new Karris Track at Strong Stadium. Then it's back on the road on September 24, at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.
