BELOIT, Wis. -- The Rockford University football team fell to Beloit College, 14-12, on Thursday in the annual Battle of the Rock River rivalry game.
The Regents battled the Buccaneers under the lights in a closely contested game, scoring a touchdown in the first quarter and another in the third quarter.
Rockford drew first blood on its second drive of the game when
Ben Parker completed a deep pass over the middle to
Kenny Moten-Barden, setting the Regents up at the Beloit 11-yard line.
Malik Gordon then gained five yards on the ground before Parker rushed for four yards to set up a third-and-short situation. Two plays later, Gordon punched it into the end zone from one yard out to give the Regents a 6-0 lead. Following a missed PAT attempt, Rockford led 6-0 with 6:14 left in the first quarter.
Beloit gained the lead early in the second quarter after a fumble by
Brandon Edwards Jr. set the Buccaneers up at their own 48-yard line. Noah Carrasco then completed a deep pass over the middle to Braeden Hoth at the Rockford 14-yard line, and Beloit gained seven more yards following a roughing-the-passer penalty. Three plays later, Carrasco found Hoth again for a five-yard touchdown, and Beloit converted the extra point to take a 7-6 lead with 10:59 remaining in the second quarter.
After a seven-play drive on the ensuing possession, the Regents were forced to punt.
The Buccaneers then took over at the Rockford 38-yard line, where Carrasco found Carson Coby for a 19-yard reception to put Beloit in the red zone. Four plays later, Deandre Fields scored on a run up the middle as the Buccaneers extended their lead to 14-6 with 5:28 remaining in the second quarter. Beloit held the 14-6 advantage going into halftime.
Both defenses dominated the second half, but the Regents continued to fight.
Ahlin Gilbert recovered a fumble to set up the Rockford offense at the Beloit 12-yard line. The Regents moved backward before reaching the six-yard line, but Parker and Moten-Barden connected on a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-4 to cut the deficit to 14-12. Unfortunately for the Regents, they were unable to capitalize on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt.
Both defenses continued to dominate throughout the fourth quarter before Rockford took over with 3:26 remaining at its own 44-yard line following a series of defensive stops by both teams. The Regents moved the chains once on their final drive and reached the Beloit 36-yard line on fourth-and-1. However, a fumble on the exchange, recovered by Beloit, sealed the game for the Buccaneers.
Rockford outgained Beloit 208-148 in total offense. Parker completed 19 of 34 passing attempts for 170 yards with one interception and a touchdown. Gordon led Rockford on the ground with 30 yards on 14 rushing attempts and one touchdown. Moten-Barden led the Regents in receiving with 66 yards on four receptions and a touchdown, while
Napoleon Williams had a team-high seven receptions for 47 yards.
Gilbert led Rockford with 1.5 sacks and four total tackles with one fumble recovery.
Matthew Hill led the team with 14 tackles, while
Jesse Gantt recorded a team-high two tackles for loss and a half a sack.
The Regents will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 12, in their home opener against Elmhurst University at Sam Greeley Field at 1 p.m.
