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Cooper King celebrating a touchdown at Carthage Sept. 27, 2025
ASHTIN ELDER PHOTO
49
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 3-3 , 3-2
27
Millikin MIL 2-4 , 1-4
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
3-3 , 3-2
49
Final
27
Millikin MIL
2-4 , 1-4
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
IWU Ill. Wesleyan 14 21 0 14 49
MIL Millikin 0 7 13 7 27

Game Recap: Football |

Dominant First Half Guides Football to Win at Millikin

Smyth combines for six total touchdowns

DECATUR, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team used a 35-point first half to its advantage, as the Titans left Decatur, Ill., with a 49-27 victory over Millikin University Saturday, Oct. 18. The win boosts the Green and White to 3-3 on the season, and 3-2 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play, while Millikin dips to 2-4 overall, and 1-4 in league action.

The Titans moved the ball seemingly at will in the first half, racing out to a 35-0 lead with 1:31 left to play in the second quarter. The Big Blue got on the scoreboard before the break and then proceeded to score the first 20 points of the second half to make things interesting in the fourth quarter.

With its once comfortable cushion cut to one-score, 35-27, in the fourth quarter Illinois Wesleyan used a seven-yard tackle behind the sticks by sophomore Gavin LaDere (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) to force a Millikin punt and never looked back.

Junior Dermot Smyth (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) looked comfortable from wire-to-wire, as he finished with 385 yards in the air to establish a new career-high, completing 21-of-31 passes, and totaled six touchdowns. The dual-threat QB threw for five, tying his career-best set earlier this season, and scampered into the enzone for a rushing TD, marking the fourth straight game he has scored on the ground. Sophomore Tony Noto (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central) led the Green and White in rushing yards, as he totaled a career-best 93 on the ground, and scored the first rushing TD of his career.

IWU saw big production from its wide receivers, as two Titans finished with 100-yard games for the second straight week. Sophomore Will Nazha (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) led the group, as he hauled in eight catches for 137 yards and a score. Junior Jimmy Deacy (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) produced 105 yards on just three catches, including a career-best 69-yard catch that resulted in a touchdown. Sophomore GB Kruzick (Morton, Ill.-Morton) was credited with 79 yards and a touchdown on five catches, while sophomore tight end Cooper King (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) registered his first two-score game, as he turned three catches into 50 yards and two touchdowns. 

Junior linebacker Austin Brown (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) led the defense with eight tackles, tying his career-best performance, while adding 0.5 tackles for loss, a pass break-up, and a forced fumble to his stat line. Sophomore Gavin LaDere (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) smashed his previous career-high, as he posted seven tackles, including one for a loss. Junior Ian Whitaker (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) wreaked havoc on the Big Blue backfield, as he finished with a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss for a total of 15 yards, and added a sack amid his six tackles in the game. Junior Marcheon Griffin (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) also finished with a sack, as well as two TFLs. 

The Green and White special teams had a strong showing on the road, as freshman Lach Sullivan (Rochester, Ill.-Rochester) went a perfect seven-for-seven on PATs. Sophomore Matt Worthington (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich) finished with 152 yards between three punts, an average of 50.7 per attempt, and pinned MU within the 20 on one. 

Illinois Wesleyan got started on the right foot as Smyth completed Kruzick and Deacy to move into Millikin territory. After junior Malik Gray (Chicago, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) rushed for a five-yard gain, Smyth went back to Deacy for a 20-yard haul down the IWU sideline. In the red zone, IWU capped off the four-minute, 75-yard drive with a touchdown pass to King. Rolling to his right, Smyth found King wide open King for a 19-yard score. King's second TD of the year was followed by a PAT from Sullivan pushed the Titans ahead, 7-0.

Millikin completed back-to-back passes to move 20 yards downfield before the Illinois Wesleyan defense locked in. Griffin came up with a two-yard tackle for loss and juniors Joey DeMaio (Woodridge, Ill.-Lemont Township) and Matt Hansen (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) followed with key plays to force MU to punt. 

Gray carried the start of the drive, rushing on four of the first five plays before Smyth found sophomore Koby Osterhage (Waterloo, Ill.-Waterloo) for a seven-yard snag to move the chains near midfield. Nazha and King caught 21 and 16-yard receptions, respectively, to quickly put the Green and White on the cusp of another score. This time, Smyth went to the far corner of the endzone to hit Kruzick for a five-yard TD,

Illinois Wesleyan's defense thwarted a Millikin drive, forcing the Big Blue to punt after marching 44 yards downfield. Needing one play to score, Symth rolled towards the Green and White sideline, and fired a pass to Deacy. The junior jumped over his defender to complete the catch, and raced to the endzone, as it was all green in front of him for the 69-yard touchdown. The play marked Smyth's longest completed pass in his career. 

Leading 21-0, senior Andrew London (Tinley Park, Ill.-Andrew) came through with a timely stop behind the line of scrimmage to force a punt with just over seven and a half minutes left in the half.

A pass from Smyth to Nazha was good for 60 yards and setup IWU with first-and-goal from the MU one-yard line. Smyth kept it himself and scampered in for the score to extend the lead, 28-0. 

The Titans tacked on another score with 1:31 left in the period as Illinois Wesleyan finished off a 10-play, 60-yard drive. After penalties wiped away an IWU touchdown and a Millikin interception, Smyth hit Nazha for a five-yard score to drive the visitors ahead, 35-0.

Millikin broke up the shutout just before halftime as a 45-yard completion had the Big Blue on the doorstep. On second down from the IWU six-yard line, Sylas Gomez ran it in for Millikin's first score of the day. 

The touchdown proved to be the start of 27 unanswered points by the Big Blue as Illinois Wesleyan's lead shrunk to eight.

The Green and White looked ready to score on third and six, but Millikin's defense broke up a pass intended for Deacy. The Titans remained calm, staying on the field to try and get momentum back on their side. With the Big Blue defense crashing in on him, Smyth threw up a desperation pass to the endzone, which found its way into the hands of a leaping King through traffic for his second touchdown of the day. The crucial score upped IWU's advantage to 42-27 with 7:42 remaining in the game.

Forcing Millikin to punt on the next drive, IWU made quick work on its drive, as the opening play say Noto rush 47 yards up the middle for the insurance touchdown. Following the successful PAT, the Titans extended its lead to 49-27. Sophomore Lucas Lappin (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich) intercepted a pass, his second INT of the season, to secure the road win. 

Illinois Wesleyan returns home next Saturday, Oct. 25, to host North Park University. Kickoff of IWU's penultimate home game of the year is slated for 1 p.m. at Tucci Stadium.
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