An unseasonably warm November Saturday brought fans out to Strong Stadium to fill the bleachers for the Beloit Buccaneers’ final game of the year against the Illinois College Blue Boys. Despite coming up short 38-7 in the end, the Bucs showed huge improvements on defense, producing the highlight of the season on offense with a 65-yard touchdown run by running back Jonathan Williamson ‘28. Alumni and family members showed out for Senior Day, and the diploma-bound Bucs did not disappoint, with some fantastic individual performances. 

Wide Receiver Chris Moore recorded a grab to cap off his Bucs career, and defensive back Quentin Shane tallied seven total tackles on the day. Linebackers Etienne LaBlanc and Conner Rose, running backs Wellington Hull and Kaleb Elder, and fifth-year offensive lineman Jalen Prince are also among the Bucs senior squad. 

Elder perhaps encapsulated the Bucs’ entire season when he recorded a sensational toe-tapping one-handed catch on the sideline, which resulted in a loss of three yards. 

The Bucs began the game with a promising start on defense, forcing a punt on the Blue Boy’s first offensive drive of the day. A fumble by running back Jonathan Williamson ‘28 at the 20-yard line as the Bucs started their drive at their own 20 suddenly erased the momentum the defensive stop had created. This turned into a quick touchdown on the ground for the Blue Boys, and the score stood at 6-0 in the middle of the first quarter following a failed two-point conversion attempt by Illinois College as their quarterback was driven to the ground by a crew of Bucs. The ship swayed. Strong Stadium suddenly buckled under the noise as if waves thrashed against its side, the rowdy student section and home fans providing an ocean of noise. 

Quarterback Ben Parker ‘29 fired the ball in a sudden and delayed fashion that day, which resembled the flintlock pistol the Bucs might be using if they were devoid of anachronisms. It could be said that Parker had a clean sheet that day in the passing department, recording no interceptions, but did not throw a touchdown, opting to extend plays by scrambling for an average gain of a mere foot every time he did so. Although there wasn’t a whole lot of offense for the Bucs in the first half, that certainly doesn’t mean the first half wasn’t offensive, as a middle-aged fan whipped his Bucs jersey off for a few minutes in the student section during the second quarter. Perhaps it was a good-luck charm for the wayward home team as they stopped Illinois College from moving the chains on many occasions and held them to a field goal before halftime, behind some key pass breakups by defensive back Josh Yearby ‘27, and a huge hit by defensive lineman Josh Boggs ‘28 to set the tone on first down. 

Trotting off the field down 9-0 at halftime, the Bucs hadn’t swashbuckled into the endzone in three and a half games, but the defense had a performance they could hang their hats on. They certainly had their chances, as Parker heaved a lurching and lumbering pass down the left sideline that was fought for but fell incomplete. After the incompletion, the Bucs decided to play it safe, kneeling to run the rest of the clock out on the first half with a manageable deficit. 

Despite coming up short on their last drive before the first half, a bolt of electricity shot through the gridiron in the first ten seconds of the second half, and his name was running back Jonathan Williamson, who more than made up for his previous fumble. Williamson took the handoff to the right and barreled into the Illinois College secondary with ease, charging forth like a freight train of blue and yellow and tossing defenders aside as if they were unwanted rag dolls. All this without losing a step of his churning speed for the entirety of his 65-yard trip through the express lane to the house. 

It had finally happened, the sun had come out and shone for the Bucs: for the first time in three games, they had scored an offensive touchdown. An explosion of all the pent-up celebration the home section had longed to express ensued. Cowbells were rung, and the sound swirled across town on the wind. Was there a chance the Bucs could capitalize on this sudden offensive supernova? The answer proved to be no, as the defense was worn down, letting up big runs up the middle and allowing Illinois College to march into the endzone once again in the third quarter. With a still not insurmountable scoreline of 16-7, the Bucs wasted a terrific return by Amani Floyd ‘29 with an offensive penalty on the ensuing drive and a failure to execute on both sides of the ball as Illinois College sliced through the Bucs defense, providing huge lanes for their backs to run through. Following a successful two-point conversion, the Blue Boys placed themselves firmly in the driver’s seat, leading 24-7 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. The next drive was a little more promising, although Parker’s passes often sailed off target, a productive 15-yard run by running back Anthony Sharp ‘28, and an impressive sideline grab by wide receiver Peyton Parnell ‘29 provided a crackling ember of hope to the Bucs faithful. Positive progress was negated by an offensive penalty on third down and a failure to convert on third down and 15 inside opposing territory. Punter Ian Ladd ‘29 had his work cut out for him that day and did not shrivel under the sun, drilling five high spiralling kicks for an average of 32.4 yards each. As the third quarter turned into the fourth, the dam began to burst for the Bucs defense as they let up another touchdown at the end of the third. Regardless of Kaleb Elder’s aforementioned theatrical sideline grab, the Bucs could not convert on fourth and six at their own 39-yard line. Parker was compacted like a junkyard car under the pressure of Illinois College’s defensive line, and his pass barely squirted out of the swarm and fell short after being tipped. 

With ten minutes remaining in the fourth, Illinois College added insult to injury by firing the ball through the air all the way down the field, another virtually uncontested touchdown. Not without the referees were lambasted by the home crowd after a questionable unnecessary roughness call on the Bucs’ defense after a successful stuffing of an Illinois College back behind the line of scrimmage. In any case, the damage was done, and the Blue Boys held a 38-7 lead as the fourth quarter lurched along. 

Although the Bucs’ fans were faced with yet another 1-9 campaign this season, they didn’t leave Strong Stadium that day without some final excitement. Wide Receiver AJ Williams ‘29 came alive with two huge catches on the following Bucs drive. He snatched a Parker pass off the ground for a first down over the middle and sprinted under a high spiraling throw, smoothly grabbing it over his shoulder like Willie Mays and getting dragged down, knocking on the door at the one-yard line as he secured a 54-yard reception. This completion accounted for much of Parker’s passing yards that day, as he was 7 of 17 for 74 yards on the day. The final gut punch occurred when Parker lost the snap at the one-yard line and Illinois College snatched it up. 

Things concluded with Illinois College running out the clock, and the Bucs fans marching out into the afternoon sun with a shred of optimism for the next Bucs season, as they showed improvement in several games this year.

Featured image: KaylaWolf2024