BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A balanced effort in all three facets of the game saw the Illinois Wesleyan University football team cruise to a 42-14 Homecoming victory over Carroll University in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play Saturday, Oct. 5, at Tucci Stadium.
With the win, the Titans moved to 2-2 on the year and 2-1 in CCIW play. Meanwhile, Carroll dropped to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in league games.
IWU racked up more than 500 yards of total offense, gaining a season-best 259 yards on the ground and 280 in the air. The Titan defense held Carroll to 280 yards of offense (285 passing, -5 rushing).
Offensively, senior Brandon Bauer (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East HS) completed 20-of-30 passes for 261 yards and two scores, while adding two rushing touchdowns. Fellow senior
Bryce Dooley (LeRoy, Ill.-LeRoy HS) was his top target, hauling in six receptions for 99 yards and a TD. Senior
Zach Walsh (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East HS) added five receptions, including a score, on 44 yards receiving.
Senior Dean Zigulich (Riverside, Ill.-Riverside-Brookfield HS) turned in a monster game, highlighted by a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The senior utility-man added three catches for 73 yards, while also handling punting duties.
Sophomore Hamid Bullie (Chicago, Ill.-Loyola Academy) and senior
Ryan Paslay (Brighton, Ill.-Southwestern HS) balanced out the ground game alongside Bauer. Bullie notched his second-career 100-yard game with 156 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown, while Paslay added a career-high 88 yards on 17 attempts.
Defensively, the Titans racked up 11 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. Junior Mike Murphy (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg HS) registered two QB takedowns and senior
Francis Urbanski (North Riverside, Ill.-Riverside-Brookfield HS) added three TFLs and 1.5 sacks. Senior
Ryan Swift (Brookfield, Ill.-Riverside-Brookfield HS) led IWU with seven stops, including a sack and 1.5 TFLs, to go along with a forced fumble and pass breakup.
Bullie and Bauer scampered for three-yard scores to put the Titans in front 14-0 early on in the second quarter, before Carroll struck on a five-yard touchdown pass to cut the IWU lead in half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Zigulich housed the restart 96-yards for a touchdown to push the lead back to 14 points, 21-7. Zigulich's big play marked the first kickoff returned for a touchdown by a Titans since Sept. 24, 2016 when Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore housed a kick 88 yards against North Park. The 96-yard touchdown was the third-longest kickoff return in Illinois Wesleyan football history.
After a 68-yard touchdown grab by the Pioneers, Illinois Wesleyan closed out the game with 21 unanswered points. Bauer rushed for his second score of the day, this time an 11-yard TD, before finding Dooley and Walsh for touchdowns through the air to seal the 42-14 win.
The Titans open a two-game roadtrip next weekend, Oct. 13, at Carthage College. Kickoff from Kenosha, Wis. is set for 1 p.m.
