CHICAGO, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan senior Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore scored three touchdowns and threw for another as the Titans rolled up a 45-10 win at North Park in Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 24.
 
The win gives IWU a 2-1 overall record this season and squares their mark at 1-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Vikings are 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the CCIW. The win also avenges a loss handed the Titans by the Vikings in the final game of the 2015 season.
 
Shoemaker-Gilmore finished with 150 rushing yards on 20 carries with two TDs, ran a kickoff back for an 88 yard TD and threw a 32 yard score in the third quarter.
 
Freshman starting quarterback Brandon Bauer finished 18 of 28 (17 of 22 in the first half) for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Illinois Wesleyan had 384 yards of total offense (182 passing, 202 rushing) compared to 202 for the Vikings (108 rushing, 94 passing). The Titans had 19 first downs to 10 for North Park. North Park was only 3-of-17 on third down conversions while the Titans were 6-of-15.
 
The Titans built up a 28-3 halftime advantage on the scoreboard and dominated the statistics with 218 total yards compared to 98 for the Vikings.
Shoemaker-Gilmore, who had 78 first half rushing yards, opened the scoring with a 21-yard TD run with 9:52 to go in the first quarter. The Adam Muellers extra point kick, his first of six, gave IWU a 7-0 lead. North Park got a 31-yard field goal with 3:02 to play in the first, but Shoemaker-Gilmore returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a score.
The 88 yard kick return is tied for sixth-longest in an IWU game.
 
The second quarter saw Bauer completing two touchdown passes to senior tight end Quincy Butler, the first of 13 yards with 7:15 left before half and the other of 7 yards with just 20 seconds remaining. Butler finished with four receptions for 44 yards.
 
Shoemaker-Gilmore ran for a 3 yard TD with 2:51 left in the third and IWU got the ball right back with a fumble on the kickoff return and Shoemaker-Gilmore threw a halfback pass of 32 yards to Dominic Comfort for a TD with 2:37 to go in the third. Comfort led IWU with seven catches for 65 yards.
 
A 24 yard field goal by Muellers with 8:26 left capped the scoring.
 
Senior linebacker Sean Garvey had 14 total tackles, seven solo, and senior linebacker Tyler Fahey had eight total stops. Senior Reese Sobol made the team's only interception and senior Jamal Jackson had the only IWU quarterback sack.
 
What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan returns home to face No. 9-ranked Wheaton in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Tucci Stadium for the annual  IWU Homecoming game. The Thunder needed a fourth quarter TD to come from behind to down Elmhurst, 10-6, on Saturday.