The Foresters were home this past weekend to take on Beloit. After a valiant effort, the Foresters suffered another tough loss. This game, however, had the Foresters fighting into overtime.
When asked about the game, Coach Cat said, “That was a heartbreaking loss. I wanted that win for our players. They fought extremely hard through the entire game, and gave themselves an opportunity to have a chance in overtime. There were some stellar individual performances on the field on Saturday. Dylan Burke, Brock Stenberg, Luke Butts, Bryce Jones, they all played the best games of their careers on Saturday. I can look at each of our players, directly in the eye, and know that they gave us EVERYTHING that they were capable of."
He continued, saying, “I give credit to Beloit, they could have folded up the tents with the way that we came back, but they fought all the way to the end, as well. Coach Brann did a great job of having his team finish the game. I have talked to our players about the fact that each week, no matter what the outcome, or the score, we play for ‘sixty minutes, or whatever it takes.’ We definitely played all the way until the end. I am excited to see where we are able to grow from this game. I know that our guys are going to continue to work hard getting ready for this week’s game."
As mentioned by Coach Cat, several players performed tremendously during the game. Among them were linebacker Bryce Jones ‘14, defensive back Luke Butts ’12, defensive lineman Casey Flynn ’12, defensive lineman Dylan Burke ’12, and running back Brock Stenberg ’11. Coach Cat commented on each performance, saying, “Bryce Jones had the opportunity to play more this week than he had in previous weeks and really stood out. I hope that he can use this as motivation to continue his development as a total player." During the game, Bryce had 6 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.
Commenting on the upperclassmen, Coach Cat said, "Luke had an amazing game. Anytime a player is personally responsible for three takeaways (2 INTS, 1 Fumble Recovery) you have to be excited about their performance as a coach. He keeps proving why he is the best safety in the MWC. Casey Flynn might have a four-leaf clover stuck in his shoe, because he has three interceptions in the last two weeks, and they have all been off of tipped passes. Truly an outstanding player, who has worked hard to make himself even better and more productive. Dylan Burke had his breakout game this week. I am hopeful that he is able to continue to build on this performance. I know that he was struggling a little bit early in the season with an ankle injury, and it is good to see him bouncing back from that. Brock Stenberg played his tail off today. His intensity running the football was tremendous. It may not have been his productive game, yardage wise, but his effort running the ball provided a lot of motivation for the team, and built our confidence as the game went on."
Tomorrow, the Foresters head to Monmouth, IL to take on Monmouth College. Good luck, boys!
--Elise Beckman, contributing author
(Photo credit: Scott Sanford '14)
