WHITING, Ind. -- Bellarmine Knights Sprint Football's defense kept them in it early, but the offense was unable to get it going in a 21-3 road loss to the Calumet College of St. Joseph Crimson Wave on Saturday evening. With the loss, the Knights drop to 3-3 overall on the season.
The game began with a CCSJ kickoff return for a touchdown that was called back by an illegal blind side block penalty. The Crimson Wave were still able to drive it down to the Bellarmine 12, but the Knights' defense stood tall as
Lance Weiter drove the runner back for the stop. However, their offense was unable to do anything and after a punt, Calumet drove it down the field for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. The Knights engineered a drive down to the CCSJ 24 yard line to end the first quarter, but a Bellarmine field goal attempt was blocked on the first play of the second quarter.
Bellarmine forced a subsequent punt, but
Vernon Duncan fumbled it away on the ensuing possession. The Knights defense again stood tall on fourth down, with
Gavin Brazzell making the big play at the Bellarmine 26 yard line, but the Knights offense was again unable to take advantage. CCSJ drove it into the red zone in their final possession of the first half, but
Riley McGrath came down with a one-handed interception in the end zone to keep it 7-0 at halftime.
Aided by a roughing the kicker penalty and a 4th down conversion on a Duncan pass to
Aiden Bratcher, the Knights put points on the board on their opening drive of the third quarter, as
Luke Vallandingham connected on a field goal to make it 7-3. CCSJ answered with a drive that ended in a touchdown pass, upping their lead to 14-3. The Crimson Wave kept the Bellarmine offense at bay for the remainder of the game and added another touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to make the final score 21-3.
The Knights will conclude the regular season on the road against St. Mary-of-the-Woods next Saturday at 3 PM.
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