BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A 33-point second-half swing saw the Illinois Wesleyan University football team overpower Millikin University Saturday afternoon, Nov. 2, in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. The Titans erased a 12-7 halftime deficit with 33 unanswered points to top the Big Blue, 40-12.
 
With the win, IWU moved to 5-3 on the season and 5-2 in conference play. Moreover, the Titans picked up their 10th consecutive win over the Big Blue. Millikin dropped to 4-4 on the year and 3-4 in CCIW games.
 
Illinois Wesleyan's defense recorded nine tackles for loss, including four sacks, while adding four interceptions. IWU's four picks are the second-most in a game in program history, and the most since the Titans tallied four INTs against Alma, Sept. 8, 2012.
 
 Junior Mike Murphy (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg HS) totaled six tackles, 3.5 for loss, with three sacks. Murphy's trio of sacks are tied for the fourth-most in IWU single game history and give the Orland Park, Ill. native 11.5 on the season, the third-most in single season laurels.
 
Seniors Jake Kapp (Wheaton, Ill.-Montini Catholic HS) and Dave Lux (New Lenox, Ill.-Lincoln-Way North HS) led the Titans in tackles, with 11 and 10, respectively. Kapp added a quarterback hurry and an interception, while Lux tallied two TFLs and a sack. Junior Keenan Scott (Evanston, Ill.-Riverside-Brookfield HS), senior Nico Gubenko (Wheaton, Ill.-Wheaton North HS) and sophomore Zach Mitchell (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles East HS) also picked off a pass each, with Scott's coming in the endzone to thwart a Millikin scoring attempt.
 
Offensively, seniors Johnny Dicanio (Elmhurst, Ill.-York HS) and Bryce Dooley (LeRoy, Ill.-LeRoy HS) paced Illinois Wesleyan. Dicanio completed 19 passes for a career-high 300 yards and the first three-score game of his career. The Elmhurst, Ill. product also led the Titan ground game, running it 10 times for 68 yards and a touchdown.
 
Dooley was on the receiving end of two of Dicanio's touchdown tosses, one for 31 yards and the other for 37. Junior Joseph Stith (Chicago Heights, Ill.-Marion Catholic HS) hauled in a 29-yard TD and senior Zach Walsh (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East HS) added six catches for a team-high 87 yards. Senior Ryan Paslay (Brighton, Ill.-Southwestern HS) provided IWU's other touchdown in the ground game.
 
On special teams, freshman Andrew Stange (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich HS) and senior Patrick Tata (Deerfield, Ill.-Loyola Academy) allowed the Titans to control field position. In addition to hitting a 33-yard field goal and converting three PATs, Stange added seven kickoffs, including three for touchbacks. Meanwhile, Tata punted eight times with a long of 40 yards and pinned the Big Blue inside their own 20 on three occasions.
 
After a three-and-out on IWU's first possession of the game, Millikin responded with a 46-yard completion on its first offensive snap before finding the endzone on a nine-yard QB keeper two minutes into the game.
 
Illinois Wesleyan responded with a 22-yard scamper by Dicanio, and a Stange point after gave the Titans a 7-6 advantage with just over nine minutes to go in the opening frame.
 
The Big Blue added another early score, capping a seven-play, 50-yard drive with a 45-yard touchdown pass, but another missed PAT gave MU a 12-7 lead at the midpoint.
 
The Titans came out re-energized out of the break, holding the Big Blue to just 56 yards of offense over the first 27 minutes of the half.
 
Illinois Wesleyan claimed its first lead of the day on a 31-yard touchdown strike from Dicanio to Dooley on its first possession of the third quarter and never looked back.
 
A two-yard run by Paslay and a two-point conversion from Dicanio to Chrystian Maciorowski (Carol Stream, Ill.-Glenbard West HS) followed a Stange field goal and put the Titans up 25-12 through three periods.
 
IWU continued to roll in the fourth as Dooley grabbed his second touchdown of the day and Dicanio converted another two-point conversion, this time on a pass to sophomore Hamid Bullie (Chicago, Ill.-Loyola Academy).
 
The Green and White wrapped up the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown snag by Stith to give Illinois Wesleyan a commanding 40-12 victory.
 
Overall, the Green and White racked up 412 yards of offense – 300 through the air and 112 on the ground. The Big Blue notched 449 yards of total offense, with 309 coming in the passing game and 140 rushing yards.
 
Illinois Wesleyan hits the road next weekend, Nov. 9, for a highly anticipated matchup with No. 7 North Central in Naperville, Ill. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.