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Norm Eash walking off the field for the final time
Kodiak Creative
42
Winner North Central (IL) NCC 10-0 , 9-0
20
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 5-5 , 5-4
Winner
North Central (IL) NCC
10-0 , 9-0
42
Final
20
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
5-5 , 5-4
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
NCC North Central (IL) 7 14 7 14 42
IWU Ill. Wesleyan 7 6 7 0 20

Game Recap: Football |

Football Finishes Off 2024 Season with Loss to No. 1 North Central

Norm Eash coaches his final game at the helm of IWU

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team gave No. 1 North Central College a bit of a scare Saturday, Nov. 16, at Tucci Stadium as the Titans were within a score into the fourth quarter before falling, 42-20. IWU finishes the season with a record of 5-5, 5-4 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. NCC completed a perfect regular season, advancing to 10-0 (9-0 CCIW) with the win.

The game marked the final for legendary Titan head football coach Norm Eash, the winningest coach in CCIW history, as he finished out his 38-year tenure. Eash completes his time at the helm of his alma mater ranked in the top-15 all-time in career wins in Division III history.

The Green and White also recognized its large senior class pregame, as 33 Titans played their final game in an IWU uniform. The game marked the final in the careers of Ryan Saxe, Frank Roti, Myles Kee,Tre Moore, Jimmy Capecci, Jonas Capek, Jack Friedewald, Jay Lemenager, Sam Schott, Eddie Cisneros, Marco Palaganas, Josh Davis, Artist Benjamin, Anthony LaMantia, Markus Marshall, Ben Deaner, Nik Espejo, Cole Pradel, Kyle Morrissey, Joshua Klein, Joe Gaskill, Melchizedek Woodson, Zach McNees, Cole Faivre, Paul Zunkel, Josh Hlavacek, Caleb Heims, Dylan Meyer, Peyton Feldman, Joshua McMillin, Christian Cloutier, Collin Elledge, and Owen Phaby.

Illinois Wesleyan finished with 377 yards of total offense, piling up 301 yards passing and 76 yards rushing. North Central tallied 573 total yards of offense, with 374 yards coming on the ground. The Cardinals finished with 199 passing yards.

Sophomore Dermot Smyth (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) completed 28-of-38 passes for 285 yards and three touchdown passes. Senior Myles Kee (St. Louis, Mo.-Priory) and sophomore Jimmy Deacy (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) each went over 100 yards receiving in the game. Kee hauled in 11 catches for 101 yards, finishing his career with 2000 receiving yards. Deacy added nine catches for a career-high 153 yards. 

Defensively, senior Cole Pradel (Oswego, Ill.-Oswego) collected 13 tackles, while sophomore Joey DeMaio (Woodridge Ill.-Lemont Township) added 11 stops. Senior Frank Roti (Orland Hills, Ill.-Andrew) finished with eight tackles, while seniors Josh Hlavacek (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield North), Zach McNees (Hillsboro, Mo.-Hillsboro), and Sam Schott (West Lafayette, Ind.-West Lafayette) tallied five apiece. Seniors Owen Phaby (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and Artist Benjamin (Wilmette, Ill.-Loyola Academy) forced fumbles in the setback.

North Central struck first, going 90 yards on nine plays on the opening drive of the game to jump ahead, 7-0, but Illinois Wesleyan responded with a scoring drive of its own. The Green and White needed just six plays to even the score. 

Kee ran the ball for an 11-yard pickup on first down and junior Jahari Scott (Lake Bluff, Ill.-Lake Forest) followed with a seven-yard scamper to move the ball to midfield. Smyth then found Deacy for a 30-yard grab across the middle of the field. Eash dialed up some trickery with a fresh set of downs as Scott threw a 16-yard pass to Smyth to set up first-and-goal at the NCC four-yard line. After Smyth was stopped at the line of scrimmage, the sophomore quarterback dropped a touchdown pass into the hands of Scott to knot the game at 7-7.

North Central reclaimed the lead with a one-yard rushing score early in the second quarter to go up, 14-7.

The Cardinals appeared poised for more, but the Titan defense stood tall to force a 32-yard field goal attempt. The kick doinked off the right upright, earning the Green and White a huge defensive stand.

A 51-yard passing play saw NCC find the endzone once again, as the visitors climbed ahead, 21-7, with 2:07 to play until halftime.

With North Central regaining possession around midfield with just under one minute on the clock, Benjamin punched loose a completed pass. The fumble was scooped up by sophomore John Gavin (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Mount Prospect) and returned across midfield before handing the ball over to the IWU offense with 17 seconds to play.

Smyth completed passes of nine, 11, and 20 yards to Deacy on three straight plays before Kee hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass. The late score trimmed the NCC lead to 21-13 into the break.

North Central ripped off a 95-yard touchdown run as Luke Lehnen broke loose down the IWU sideline for the score to drive ahead, 28-13.

IWU came right back though, as a nine-play, 75-yard drive saw the Titans pull within eight, 28-20, into the fourth quarter. Timely catches by Kee, junior Collin Elledge (Bethalto, Ill.-Civic Memorial), and senior Jonas Capek (Berwyn, Ill. Fenwick) quickly put the Green and White into the redzone. Facing third-and-nine, Smyth ran for six before being taken down at the three-yard line. Eash elected to go for it on fourth down from the NCC three and it paid off as Kee hauled in a three-yard TD catch. The touchdown, the second of the game for Kee, cut NCC's lead to 28-20.

The Cardinals scored twice more in the final period as the Titans fell, 42-20.


 
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