MEQUON, Wis. - The Regents football team was looking to keep building on its momentum from last last week's when it traveled to Wisconsin to face the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons. Rockford entered Saturday's game in 7th place in the Northern Athletics Conference with a 1-3 record while the Falcons were tied for second place going 3-1 in NAC play. Offensively the Regents were able to move the ball up and down the field between the twenties for most of the game, but were simply unable to do anything inside the redzone. Rockford made five trips into the redzone and was only able to come away with just 3 points. On its other four trips, the Regents turned the ball over on downs three times and missed a field goal. Rockford also struggled with self inflicted wounds committing 11 penalties for 118 yards, losing a fumble, and surrendering five sacks. Despite all of the miscues, the Regents were able to keep the game within reach down just 20-3 at the half. However, the Falcons pulled away in the second half scoring 20 more points giving them 40-3 victory.
It was not all bad for Rockford, as the Regents may have discovered a dynamic threat in the passing game to look towards for the remainder of the season. Quarterback Jacob Gorsuch (Rockford, Ill./Jefferson) had a career high 286 yards through the air. Gorsuch connected on 21 of 39 pass attempts and did not turn the ball over. His favorite target, Dane Kirk (Rochelle, Ill./Rochelle), also had a career day for Rockford. Kirk caught 6 passes for a career best 106 yards. Kirk became the first Regent to eclipse the century mark in receiving yards this season.
Defensively Rockford continued to get solid performances from its linebackers and part of its secondary. Senior linebacker Kirk Kabala (Plano, Ill./Plano) once again led the way for Rockford. Kabala had team-high 9 tackles including a tackle for loss. Fellow linebacker Seth Swinehart (Rockford, Ill./East) made 8 tackles giving him a team-high 71 tackles on the season. Junior cornerback EJ Johnson (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield) made his NAC leading 5th interception of the season. Johnson has now intercepted a pass in back-to-back games and in three of the last four games.
Rockford will head to Wisconsin Lutheran College for its final road game of the season next Saturday. The Warriors are currently tied for second place in the NAC with Concordia University Wisconsin. Both teams boast a 4-1 NAC record. The Regents are 3-9 against the Warriors and have gone winless (0-4) against them in Northern Athletics Conference play.
