BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The No. 13-ranked Illinois Wesleyan football team lost for the first time in 2015, falling by a 33-15 score to No. 19 North Central on a soggy day at Tucci Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 31.

The Titans are now 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while North Central improved to 5-3 overall and also 4-1 in the CCIW.

Illinois Wesleyan accounted for 184 total offense yards (56 rushing, 128 passing) while North Central had 291 (109 passing, 182 rushing). Junior Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore had 101 yards on 16 carries as the Titans were stung by two bad snaps on punts that resulted in team rushing loss of -66 yards.

Titan sophomore quarterback Jack Warner, who was sacked four times in the contest, completed 14 of 41 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns, one to junior Austin Wagner of 10 yards with 1:48 to play in the first and the other to senior Andrew Javorka of 11 yards with 7:26 to play in the third. The ensuing extra point try proved painful as Warner found senior Artie Checchin on a pass for the two-point conversion but Checchin suffered a leg injury and did not play the rest of the game.

Played in a steady rainfall, the game started in an ominous way as North Central scored before gaining an offensive possession. IWU was forced to punt on their opening drive and the snap sailed over the punter's head and into the end zone for a safety. Early in the third quarter, another bad snap led to a 5-yard fumble recovery for a Cardinal score.

Senior defensive lineman William Hargrove led the Titans with 10 total tackles and had an interception while senior Kevin Slawkowski came from the secondary to make nine stops. Senior Will James and junior linebackers Luke Roth and Sean Garvey each had eight tackles.

For North Central, Austin Breunig rished 26 times for 128 yards with TD runs of 18 and 19 yards. Dylan Warden completed 10 of 17 passes for 109 yards and Alex Ulmer made four catches for 52 yards. Eric Wilson, Kevin Nalefski and Justin Stuursma each made seven total tackles and Brandon Kibby had an interception.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan hosts No. 5-ranked Wheaton on "Seniors' Day" next Saturday, Nov. 7 at Tucci Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The Thunder will come in with an 8-0 mark (5-0 CCIW) after a 31-0 win over Elmhurst on Oct. 31.