LISLE, Ill. - It was another tough day on the gridiron for the Regents football team. For the second straight week Rockford hit the road for a tough Northern Athletics Conference matchup. This week Rockford took on the defending Northern Athletics Conference champion Benedictine University Eagles. Benedictine got on the board first when Borsellino broke a 24-yard run for a touchdown giving them a 6-0 lead. The Eagles would add one more touchdown before the half on another long play this one through the air to make it a 14-0 Eagle lead at halftime. It remained 14-0 until midway through the fourth quarter when the Eagles ran it in from 1-yard out. Benedictine would seal the victory on the very next possession when they would intercept a Rockford pass and return it 18 yards for a touchdown for a 28-0 final score.
The Regents kept themselves within striking distance of the Eagles for the majority of the game by playing good defense. The defense forced two Eagle turnovers and held down a passing attack that had been averaging over 200 yards per game to just 119 passing yards and under a 50% completion percentage. Senior linebacker Kirk Kabala (Plano, Ill./Plano) had by far his best game of the season. Kabala recorded a game-high 18 tackles and was just one tackle shy of tying the single game school record. Sophomore linebacker Seth Swinehart (Rockford, Ill./East) played his best game of the season on Saturday as well. Swinehart was all over the field making a season-high 16 tackles along with breaking up a pass. Junior transfer Jacob Arnold (Plainfield, Ill./North) filled up the stat sheet making a season high 10 tackles and intercepting his second pass of the season. Defensive lineman Gene Grey (Pago Pago, American Samoa/Tafuna) also had a day to remember making 9 tackles and recovering a fumble.
Offensively it was a difficult day for Rockford as the team was held under 175 yards of total offense. Junior running back Matthew Botello (Whittier, Calif./Pioneer) was a bright spot for the Regents. Botello carried the ball 18 times for 82 yards averaging 5.1 yards per carry. The junior is the third leading rusher in the NAC this season with 525 yards on the ground and trails the second leading rusher by only 13 yards.
Rockford returns home on Saturday to play the Maranatha Baptist Bible College Crusaders. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Sam Greeley Field.
