APPLETON, Wis. -- Freshman Nate Nelson's 73-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the third quarter proved to be the difference as the Lawrence University football team posted a 17-13 Midwest Conference win over Knox College on Saturday in the Banta Bowl.
Playing in front of a homecoming crowd, Nelson caught Sam Frank's kickoff at the Lawrence 27, went up the middle, cut left and raced untouched to the end zone to give Lawrence a 15-13 lead with 3:23 left in the third quarter. Nelson also caught the 2-point conversion pass to put the Vikings (1-5, 1-5 MWC) up 17-13.
It was Lawrence's first kickoff return for a touchdown since Derek Micke went 85 yards for a score against Beloit College on Oct. 20, 2007.
The Lawrence defense did the rest, stopping Knox (0-7, 0-6) on its final three possessions of the game. The Lawrence defense held Knox to 196 total yards, marking the second consecutive week the Vikings held the opposition to less than 200 yards.
Defensive end Matt Frelich and linebacker Greg Pater paced the Lawrence defense with 10 tackles apiece. Frelich also had a game-high 3.5 tackles for loss.
Knox got on the board first with help of a Lawrence turnover. A bad pitch was recovered by Aaron Juarez at the Lawrence 40 midway through the first quarter. Knox moved to the Lawrence 2, but Tighe Burke was stuffed on a third-down play. Burke got the ball on fourth down and pushed over the goal line for a 7-0 Knox lead.
Lawrence cut into that lead early in the second quarter after starting a drive at its own 15-yard line. Ben Hartman ripped off runs of 22 and 10 yards and Nelson caught passes of 19 and 13 yards to set up a first down at the Knox 13. The drive stalled there and Cody Robel connected on a 25-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.
Lawrence then took the lead midway through the third quarter. A key holding penalty gave lawrence a first down at its own 45 and Jeremiah Johnson then ripped off a 19-yard run. Quarterback Nick Maxam then hit Matt Hintz on consecutive pass plays to give Lawrence a first down at the Knox 5. Johnson rumbled in for the touchdown on the next play, and Lawrence led 9-7 after Robel's extra point hit the upright.
Knox took the ensuing kickoff and moved 63 yards in eight plays for a touchdown and a 13-9 lead. Quarterback Mike Pinter hit Brent Newman on an 18-yard scoring pass to cap the drive. Pinter's was stopped short of the goal line on a 2-point conversion run.
That's when Nelson stepped in with the big kickoff return to give Lawrence the lead for good.
Knox moved to the Lawrence 36 on its next possession before the defense stiffened and forced a short punt. On the next possession, the Prairie Fire went three-and-out, and Jeff Nichols intercepted his league-leading fourth pass of the season to stop the final Knox drive. Lawrence then held the ball for the final 5:43, driving all the way to the Knox 1 before time ran out.
The Vikings got a great first half running the ball from sophomore Ben Hartman. He carried the ball nine times for 86 yards before being sidelined by an injury. Maxam also had a solid game, completing 10 of 17 passes for 141 yards.
The win snapped a 15-game conference losing streak for the Vikings. Lawrence, which won its homecoming game for the fourth time in head coach Chris Howard's five seasons, hadn't won a conference game since beating Carroll University 27-14 on Oct. 27, 2007.
The Vikings return to action next Saturday when they travel to Beloit College.