NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team gave No. 1 ranked North Central College a scare early, but could not hold off the Cardinals in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin battle Saturday night, Oct. 23, at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. The Titans (2-5, 2-4 CCIW) trailed by just six points at halftime, but ultimately fell to the Cardinals (7-0, 6-0 CCIW) 55-7.

Illinois Wesleyan's defense was led by an eight-tackle performance from senior Nicholas DeGregorio (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central). The senior captain notched five solo stops and three assists, while also adding a pair of sacks. Senior Skyler Metzger (Northbrook, Ill.-Glenbrook North) matched DeGregorio with eight stops, while senior Jack Dawson (Peoria, Ill.-Peoria Notre Dame), freshman Sam Schott (West Lafayette, Ind.-West Lafayette) and junior Conor Murphy (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) tallied six tackles apiece. 

Sophomore Sage Shindler (Chicago, Ill.-Walter Payton) finished the game 20-for-33 for 127 yards, with six different Titans hauling in passes. Junior Charlie Hamilton (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart Griffin) was Shindler's top target, pulling in seven grabs for 51 yards. Senior Zack Tencza (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) added five catches for 24 yards, while senior Wesley Watson (Carmel, Ind.-Carmel) totaled 33 yards on four receptions.

Senior running back Anthony Marre (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Glenbard North) led the Titans' rushing attack with 10 carries for 42 yards and a 19-yard touchdown.

Overall, the Green and White finished with 202 yards of total offense, with 127 yards coming in the passing game and 75 coming on the ground. North Central compiled 369 rushing yards and 229 passing yards for 598 yards of total offense. The Titans went 4-for-14 on third down, while the Cardinals converted 6-of-11 times.

The Titans forced a three-and-out on the Cardinals first offensive possession, but a turnover on the ensuing punt gave NCC first-and-10 in IWU territory. The top-ranked Cardinals capitalized on the miscue with a three-play 44-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown catch.

Illinois Wesleyan strung together a solid drive in response, but a sack thwarted the Titans' scoring plans once again. The Green and White defense forced North Central to punt to keep the score at 7-0 after one quarter.

On the first play from scrimmage in the second period, NCC upped its lead with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Luke Lehnen to Andrew Kamienski. The Cardinals' point after missed wide, leaving IWU down 13-0.

Another strong effort from the defense left North Central to settle for a 35-yard field goal attempt. The kick sailed wide, turning the ball over on downs, and setting up IWU at its own 20.

Feeding off the energy of the defense, Illinois Wesleyan went 80 yards on 11 plays over nearly six minutes for its first score of the day. Staring down fourth-and-one from the NCC 19-yard line, the Titans handed it off to Marre who exploded through a hole for a 19-yard touchdown run to put the Titans on the board. 

North Central regained possession with just under three minutes left in the opening half. The Cardinals appeared poised to answer, but Degregorio came up with a huge nine-yard sack on third down. The clutch takedown from the senior captain maintained the 13-7 score at the midpoint.

NCC's 13 points marked its fewest in an opening half since the Cardinals went to the locker room tied with nationally-ranked Wheaton College, Sept. 18. 

The Cardinals struck first in the second half, taking the ball 76 yards on the third quarter's opening drive. North Central ran it seven straight times, including a one-yard TD run, to push the deficit to 20-7, before tacking on two more scores to break the game open, 34-7.

A few more scores in the fourth quarter sent IWU home with a 55-7 setback. North Central's point total was its second-lowest this season.

The Titans look to bounce back next weekend, Oct. 30, when Illinois Wesleyan hosts North Park University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. inside Tucci Stadium.