Box Score Illinois Wesleyan 21, Aurora 14 -
Box Score
AURORA, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan football Titans improved to 3-0 with a 21-14 nonconference win at Aurora on Saturday, Sept. 18.
IWU led 21-11 with 8:10 to play in the game after senior quarterback
Brien Rooney ran in from nine yards out to cap a nine-play, 56-yard drive.
Aurora's Ryan Subick kicked a 28-yard field goal with 4:27 to play to bring Aurora within seven at 21-14 and, after a Titan drive failed, Aurora marched the ball down the field in the final 2:10 of the game but the drive stalled, thanks to a quarterback sack by senior lineman
Max Brooks with 45 seconds left. An incomplete pass on the next play, fourth down, gave the ball to the Titans with a chance to run out the clock.
The Titans scored first in the game late in the first quarter when senior
Bo Lanter ran in from five yards out with 26 seconds left in the period and freshman
Tim Hollowed added the first of his three extra point kicks to give IWU a 7-0 edge.
The Spartans scored on a 21 yard field goal by Subick with 10:24 to go until halftime, capping a 10-play, 59 yard drive.
But the Titans answered on their next possession after getting great field possession as a result of a 47-yard kickoff return by Lanter. With 8:59 to go in the second quarter, a four-play, 38-yard drive was ended with a 23 yard TD pass to
Dayton Burnett from Rooney.
After an interception, the Spartans put together an 81-yard drive on eight plays, scoring on an 18 yard pass from Jimmy Bevell to Evan Hackbarth. Aurora tacked on a two-point conversion on a pass from Bevell to Jordan Peterson to make the score 14-11 with 12:37 to play in the game.
Aurora had 320 yards of total offense (256 passing) compared to 252 total yards for the Titans.
Rooney was 16 of 24 for 139 yards and rushed for 58 yards on 11 carries. Lanter had 54 yards on 12 carries and senior
Eli Williams was limited to two yards on 11 carries. Burnett had six catches for 66 yards and Williams also made six receptions for 35 yards.
Linebacker
Michael Whittington made 11 total tackles, junior #P.J. Cummings
made eight tackles with an interception and senior linebacker Dan Rogers# had seven to lead IWU defensively.
The Titans are off next weekend and return to action on Saturday, Oct. 2, opening College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play at Wheaton.