The Maroons were riding a four-game winning streak when they faced Berry this past Saturday. It was a close game that went into overtime, and unfortunately the South Siders were not able to come out on top. Chicago’s 11-game winning streak was snapped by a 24–17 loss. The Maroons had not lost a game at home since 2011.
Third-year Jackson Garrey comments, “It was obviously a tough loss for the team. We came into the game knowing that Berry was going to be a good football team and it was going to take a good game to beat them. We played well, but unfortunately we weren’t able to make some plays when we needed to and it cost us the game.”
“I thought we were really confident going into that game, but I do think we were caught off guard by their physicality and toughness. Berry knew we were ranked and they saw that as an opportunity to make a statement with a road win,” third-year Burke Moser said. “The SAA is an extremely tough conference and you can’t just waltz out on the field and expect to win. I felt like we did that and there wasn’t a competitive edge that I’m used to seeing from our team.”
Chicago came out strong, leading by seven in the first quarter, but Berry was able to tie the game going into the half. Berry was able to best Chicago on the ground with 160 rushing yards compared to the Maroons’ 56 yards. The passing yards were very close; the South Siders led with 285.
Although the loss is disappointing considering the squad’s high goals, the Maroons are not hanging their heads. Linebacker Garrey said, “Losing in overtime like that is always going to hurt, but we can’t let that hurt linger and affect our preparation for our next opponent [Rhodes]. We’re only halfway through our season, and even though this loss hurts, we still have five games left to improve and to accomplish all of our goals we set as a team for this season.”
The Maroons are hopeful for the rest of the season. The South Siders will be traveling to Rhodes this weekend, and will be at home for the next two. Chicago will end with two away games against the UAA, which bodes well for the team; the Maroons won the UAA conference this past season.
Moser is optimistic going into the latter half of the season. “This loss is certainly a bit humbling, maybe for the better. Despite this loss, we are still a tight unit. We win and lose games together and this is just going to make us closer going forward.”
The South Siders face Rhodes this Saturday at 1 p.m. EST. Last year, the Maroons came out on top against Rhodes with a 17–14 win, and hopefully they will be able to replicate that this year.
