After a tough 38-22 loss last week to WashU, Illinois Wesleyan Football bounced back to take down Millikin in a 14-0 victory. This win moves IWU football’s record to 2-4 on the year, and 2-3 versus CCIW opponents.
Illinois Wesleyan managed to keep Millikin scoreless through four quarters while limiting their offense to 324 total yards. The key to this defensive show was the defense coming up big in critical situations. The Titans defense held the Big Blue to 3-of-10 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down.
The defense got a huge push from their linemen as junior Conor Murphy led the team with seven tackles along with a strip sack, while senior Nicholas DeGregorio had three tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery.
The first quarter started off with a three and out drive by the Titans. It was followed up by a Millikin drive down to the IWU five yard line where senior Tyler Maple broke up a pass on fourth down to cause a turnover on downs
Minutes into the second quarter, the Titans put together a 7- play drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown run by Sophomore Seth Albin. The extra point by Andrew Stange put the Titans up 7-0.
Freshman Michael Alvarado pulled in an interception at IWU’s 30-yard line and returned it 18 yards to IWU’s 48 yard line.
The interception set up a 7-play drive that concluded with a 9-yard touchdown reception by senior Zack Tencza, thrown by sophomore Sage Shindler. The touchdown gave the Titans a comfortable lead as they went into halftime up 14-0.
The third quarter remained a defensive battle, with both teams struggling to put points on the board.
Millikin’s second drive of the quarter led to a 4th down and 4 yards on IWU’s own 12 yard line where senior Skyler Metzger hurried the opposing quarterback, who threw an incompletion. The incompletion led to a turnover on downs by the Big Blue.
Strong defensive play remained the theme as the fourth quarter progressed. The Titans put together a long drive, but couldn’t turn it into points as it ended with a punt from Jonathan Rukujzo pinning Millikin at their own 1-yard line.
With 5:06 left on the clock, Millikin geared up for a comeback and marched down to IWU’s own 40-yard line. On third down, the Big Blues quarterback dropped back to pass, and ended up being intercepted by freshman Frank Roti.
The interception sealed the deal for the Titans as they were then able to run out the clock to complete the 14-0 victory.
The Titans finished the game with 333 total yards of offense, with 126 of those coming from rushing, and 207 in the air.
Sophomore Sage Shindler ended with 23-of-31 completions for 207 yards and a touchdown. Senior Hamid Bullie led the backfield with 101 rushing yards, and Junior Charlie Hamilton led the receivers with 7 receptions for 104 yards.
The Titans will hope to keep the momentum going next week when they travel to take on North Central at 6 P.M on Saturday, October 23rd.