ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Roosevelt struggled to contain the potent Davenport rushing attack in a 59-21 setback Saturday in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup at Morris Field.
The Panthers scored on nine of their 11 drives against the Lakers and racked up 369 rushing yards. Yet Roosevelt (5-2, 1-2 GLIAC) continued to make the proceedings interesting in various points with those two timely stops.
Davenport scored on its first two drives to take a 14-0 lead, and Tony Chahino was leading Roosevelt down the field on the Lakers' third possession. He connected with Michael Prokos for an 18-yard catch on 3rd-and-14 then found Johnnie Robertson for 19 yards to put the Lakers in Panthers' territory.
After an interception stalled that drive, the Lakers picked up their first stop of the night with Davenport backed up in the shadow of its own end zone. Derrick Streeter returned the punt into Davenport territory, and Carl Bew used his legs to help move the ball down the field, setting up a nine-yard touchdown to DJ Simmons Jr. It was Simmons' sixth straight game with a touchdown catch and his 10th of the season, tying him for the program's single-season record.
The Lakers put some pressure on the Panthers by forcing a pair of third downs on the next drive, but Davenport was able to add three more scores before halftime to make it 31-7 at the intermission. They scored again right after halftime and Roosevelt turned again to Bew to lead it down the field. Bew's athleticism helped him escape the pocket several times, including on fourth down when he converted 4th-and-13 with a toss to Prokos.
Bew would throw touchdowns to Jaden Bossie and Prokos in the second half, and finished with 119 yards and the three scores on 16 passing attempts. The senior quarterback also led the Lakers with 65 rushing yards, helping take advantage of the space left by a Panthers defense trying to shut down Roosevelt's prolific passing attack.
Stacey Terry led the Lakers with 13 tackles and Brandon Harvey added a pair of tackles-for-loss as well.
UP NEXT: Roosevelt hits the road to re-visit the site of its first Division II victory and face Northern Michigan next week at the Superior Dome in Marquette, Michigan.
