BELOIT, Wis. -- The Beloit College football team pulled away early with some big plays and went on to a 44-14 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday at Strong Stadium.
The Bucs (5-3, 4-3 MWC) got an 81-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and a 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to build a 17-0 lead. Beloit would lead 31-7 at the half and got a 55-yard scoring pass and a 79-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second half.
Brian Maughn completed 18 of 31 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns to pace the Beloit attack. Cody Large ran 10 times for 93 yards to lead Beloit's ground game.
Beloit led 3-0 when Julian Ross hauled in the 81-yard scoring pass from Maughn to give the Bucs a 10-0 lead. Large then went 75 yards just 27 seconds into the second quarter to put the Bucs up 17-0.
Freshman wide receiver Nate Nelson had another big game for the Vikings (1-6, 1-6 MWC). He capped an eight-play, 51-yard drive by catching a 22-yard scoring pass from Sam Ausloos with 11:13 left in the first half to cut the lead to 17-7. Nelson finished with three catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bucs countered with a pair of short scoring drives of 45 and 46 yards in the second quarter. Ross caught an 8-yard scoring pass, and Derek Carrier grabbed a 20-yard scoring pass to give Beloit a 31-7 lead at the break.
Ross also caught a 55-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter, and Vince Salucci had a 79-yard interception return for a touchdown with 29 seconds left in the third quarter.
Nelson finished the scoring when he caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from Nick Maxam just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Senior defensive end Matt Frelich had another big game for the Vikings. He finished with a game-high 10 tackles. He had three tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks and recovered a fumble.
Lawrence returns to action next Saturday for its final home game of the season when the Vikings host Carroll University.