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John Gavin & Cole Pradel make a tackle against Central
Kodiak Creative
14
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 0-1 , 0-0
49
Winner Central (IA) CEN 1-0 , 0-0
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
0-1 , 0-0
14
Final
49
Central (IA) CEN
1-0 , 0-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
IWU Ill. Wesleyan 0 14 0 0 14
CEN Central (IA) 21 7 14 7 49

Game Recap: Football |

Football Defeated by Dutch in Season Opener

Titans travel to Elmhurst, Sept. 21, for CCIW lid lifter

PELLA, Iowa - An early hole proved too much for the Illinois Wesleyan University football team to dig itself out of Saturday, Sept. 7, as the Titans dropped their season opener at Central College. IWU slipped to 0-1 with the 49-14 setback at Schipper Stadium, while Central climbed to 1-0.

The Dutch raced out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead. The Titans clawed back within two scores at halftime, 28-14, but Central tacked on 21 points in the second half to overpower IWU.

Sophomore Dermot Smyth (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) threw the ball 44 times, the most pass attempts since Brandon Bauer tossed it 55 times Sept. 14, 2019. Smyth completed 50 percent of his throws, connecting with seven different receivers. The sophomore QB's top target was fellow sophomore Jimmy Deacy (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel), who hauled in seven catches for 70 yards. Junior Collin Elledge (Bethalto, Ill.-Civic Memorial) pulled in his first career TD, a seven-yard grab, while junior Jahari Scott (Lake Bluff, Ill.-Lake Forest) also caught a seven-yard score.

Senior Cole Pradel (Oswego, Ill.-Oswego) paced the defense with a career-high 17 tackles, seven solo and 10 assisted, and a pick. Sophomore John Gavin (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Prospect) and senior Sam Schott (West Lafayette, Ind.-West Lafayette) also tallied double-digit tackles in the loss. Gavin collected a career-high 14 stops, while Schott added 11 tackles. 

As a team, IWU finished with 171 yards of total offense. The Titans threw for 156 yards and added 15 rushing yards. Central compiled 541 yards of total offense, including 377 through the air and 164 on the ground. The Dutch tallied 31 first downs to IWU's 12, while CC went 12-for-18 on third down and 2-for-3 on fourth down. The Titans were 6-for-18 in third down situations and were held to 0-for-2 on fourth down.

In his Green and White debut, sophomore Johnny Miles (Cary, Ill.-Cary Grove) punted nine times for an average boot of 36.2 yards. He had a long of 60 on the day, while forcing four fair catches.

After seeing Central score on each of its first three drives of the game, senior Artist Benjamin (Wilmette, Ill.-Loyola Academy) picked off a Dutch pass in front of the IWU sideline to give the Titan offense the ball in Central territory. Starting its drive at the Central 37-yard line, the Green and White offense found a rhythm as Smyth connected with a well-covered Deacy for a 13-yard gain to set up first and goal from the Central seven-yard line. With pressure flying into the backfield, Smyth shook loose a Central defender to evade a sack and tossed a seven-yard dart to Elledge for IWU's first points of the season.

Trailing 28-7 after another Dutch score, Central appeared poised for more after regaining possession with good field position. Charging towards the end zone, Pradel came across and intercepted a Dutch pass to hand the ball back to the Titan offense.

Back-to-back grabs by senior Tre Moore (Cool Valley, Mo.-Ritenour), one for 11 yards and the other for an 18-yard pickup, and a late hit by Central had the IWU two-minute offense clicking as it drove down field. Deacy hauled in two more catches before Smyth escaped a collapsed pocket for a 16-yard gain to give the Green and White first and goal from the two. A delay of game penalty pushed the Titans back to the seven-yard line, but Smyth found Scott on a play-action pass to the endzone to cap the 10-play, 77-yard drive.

Central outscored IWU 21-0 over the final two quarters to send Illinois Wesleyan home with a 49-14 setback.

The Titans will enjoy a bye week before returning to action at Elmhurst University Saturday, Sept. 21, for their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.



 
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