WHEATON, Ill. -- With 6 seconds left in the game,
Brandon Bauer hit
Zach Walsh on a 12-yard touchdown pass to cap a 13-play, 86-yard drive as the No. 19 Illinois Wesleyan football team upset No. 4 Wheaton, 14-10, at McCully Stadium in Wheaton, Ill., on Saturday, Sept. 30.
The Titans and Thunder are both 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin as Illinois Wesleyan picked up its first win at Wheaton since 1996.
After the game, IWU head coach
Norm Eash told WJBC Radio it was an "amazing win. Our kids played hard for four quarters and made some great plays down the end. Our defense was terrific and put us in a position to win the game. To knock off the No. 4 team puts us back in a good position in the conference and to do great things over the next five games."
IWU opened the scoring with a 28-yard touchdown gallop by junior
Morgan Alexander with 3:06 to play in the first quarter. That run capped a 10-play, 75 yard drive and
Patrick Tata added the extra point to give IWU a 7-0 lead.
It was a lead they held until 8:07 left before halftime when Jaelin Goldsmith completed a 16-yard scoring pass to Carter Roberts and Stefan Knoerr's extra point tied the game at 7-7.
The Thunder went ahead 10-7 on a 33-yard field goal by Knoerr with 9:38 remaining and held that lead until the Titans got the ball on their own 14 yard line with 2:33 remaining. Bauer engineered the drive, completing seven of nine passes (including three to
Brian Johnson), with the game-winner to Walsh. Bauer finished the day with 20 completions in 36 attempts for 199 yards with the one TD and two interceptions.
IWU had 284 yards ot total offense (199 pass, 85 rush) compared to 278 for the Thunder (205 pass, 73 rush). Alexander had 98 yards on 26 carries and
Liam Keffer made a team-high eight receptions for 96 yards.
Jordan Hassan led the defense with 14 tackles (six solo) with three tackles for loss and a -12 yard quarterback sack.
Quintin Walters,
Brinton Wilkey and
Trevor Staley were responsible for eight tackles each and Staley made the Titans' only interception for a 21-yard return.
Eric Dubose (-9 yards) and
John Nolan (-6 yards) each had quarterback sacks.
What's Next?
The Titans are on the road again next Saturday, taking on Augustana College in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Ericson Field in Rock Island, Ill. ... The Vikings won their first game of the season on Saturday, topping Elmhurst 24-19.
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