BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team began College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play with a 47-16 defeat at the hands of 11th-ranked Wheaton College Saturday, Sept. 16, at Tucci Stadium. The Titans stumbled to 0-2 on the year, 0-1 in the CCIW with the setback, while the nationally-ranked Thunder's record upped to 2-0 (1-0 CCIW).
The Green and White put up 295 yards of total offense, with 245 coming through the air and 50 coming on the ground. The Thunder totaled 569 yards of offense, including 284 rushing and 285 passing.
Sophomore Zach Hinds (Riverton, Ill.-Riverton) was effective after stepping in at quarterback in the second quarter, finishing 9-for-13 for 189 yards with a pair of touchdown passes and one interception. Tre Moore (Cool Valley, Mo.-Ritenour) and junior Myles Kee (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Louis Priory) were on the receiving end of Hinds' TD tosses, with Moore leading IWU with 91 receiving yards. Kee hauled in a team-high seven passes for 79 yards.
Defensively, the Titans were led by junior Eddie Cisneros' (Rosemont, Ill.-Maine West) career-high 10 tackles. He posted seven solo stops and three assisted tackles, while also registering a tackle for loss and two pass breakups. Juniors Frank Roti (Orland Hills, Ill.-Andrew) and Sam Schott (West Lafayette, Ind.-West Lafayette, Ind.) as well as seniors Arthur Chatt (La Grange, Ill.-Lyons Township) and Joel Baer (Eureka, Ill.-Eureka) notched eight tackles apiece.
Illinois Wesleyan took advantage of winning the coin toss, putting points on the board on its first possession. Setup by sophomore Danny Kent's (Addison, Ill.-Fenwick) kickoff return, junior Jay Lemenager (Clifton, Ill.-Clifton) went 6-for-8 through the air to lead IWU down field. The drive was capped by the first career field goal by freshman Kaden Junge (Mattoon, Ill.-Mattoon), a 30-yarder to push the Titans ahead 3-0.
The Thunder used the run-game to break open a 23-3 advantage, but the Green and White closed the half strong. Hinds connected with Moore for a 66-yard catch before delivering a dart to Moore in the endzone for a 25-yard score. The touchdown, the first of Moore's career, cut the Wheaton lead to 23-10.
A 10-play, 73-yard drive chewed up the final 2:40 of the half as the Thunder charged into the redzone. Following catches of 11 and 26 yards, Cisneros broke up a pass and junior
Josh Hlavacek (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield North) and Baer combined for a stop inside the five-yard line to hold Wheaton to a field goal.Â
Coming out of the half trailing 26-10, Illinois Wesleyan saw Wheaton score three times to take a 47-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter.Â
The Green and White finished the scoring with Hinds' 43-yard touchdown pass to Kee to finish off a five-play, 72-yard drive.Â
Illinois Wesleyan hits the road for the first time in 2023 next week, Sept. 23, with a trek to Waukesha, Wis. for a battle with Carroll University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
