BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- In a battle of top 13 teams, the No. 13 ranked Illinois Wesleyan Titans came out on the short end of a 38-20 decision to No. 10 North Central on "Seniors' Day" at Tucci Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 3.
 
The Titans are now 7-2 overall and 7-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Cardinals are 8-1 overall and also 7-1 in league play.

Illinois Wesleyan amassed 420 total yards and had 24 first downs to 392 yards and 20 for North Central. The Titans had 367 of their yards through the air and 53 net rushing yards while the Cardinals went for 285 passing yards and 107 rushing yards. With a 94 yard TD kickoff return by Cameron Moore, North Central had 140 kickoff return yards.

Junior Brandon Bauer completed 37 of 57 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns.  The 57 passes is the second most in an IWU game, behind the record of 64 by Chad Beaty at Wheaton in 1998.
Bauer now holds the IWU season records for completions (242), passing yards (2,803) and attempts (360). His 539 career completions leaves himjust five short of tying the school career mark of 544 set by Rob Gallik from 2010-13.

Senior Morgan Alexander ran for 82 yards on 26 carries and Bauer had -29 rushing yards and was sacked five times.
Alexander has 926 rushing yards this season, seventh most in an IWU campaign.

Zach Walsh made 13 catches for 137 yards and Jack Healy had seven receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown with Dean Zigulich had seven catches for 93 yards.
Healy now has 971 receiving yards this season, sixth best in an IWU season, and his 2,416 career yards receiving is fifth most.

Defensively, Nico Gubenko had nine solo tackles and assisted on two more while Keenan Scott had 10 total tackles. Senior defensive end Eric Dubose had seven total tackles, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and a quarterback sack.

North Central quarterback Broc Rutter threw for 285 yards in completing 21 of 33 passes with two touchdowns. Also offensively for the Cardinals, Ethan Greenfield ran 18 times for 81 yards and Michael Skifas made five catches for 125 yards with a long reception of 86 yards. Defensively, Jake Beesley and Derrek Warkenthien each had nine tackles to lead North Central with Warkenthien making two sacks.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan plays at North Park in Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 10, with a chance for a share of its second-straight CCIW championship remaining in play ... League co-leader North Central ends its regular season with a home game against Millikin.