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Mac Brennan TD
© AshtinElder
21
North Park NPU 2-5 , 1-5
49
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4-3 , 4-2
North Park NPU
2-5 , 1-5
21
Final
49
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
4-3 , 4-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
NPU North Park 7 7 7 0 21
IWU Ill. Wesleyan 7 14 14 14 49

Game Recap: Football |

Football Topples North Park

Four different receivers haul in TDs

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team used a strong second half to take down North Park University in decisive fashion, 49-21, at a brisk Tucci Stadium Saturday afternoon, Oct. 25. Illinois Wesleyan moved to 4-3 overall with the win, including a 2-2 home record and a 4-2 mark in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. North Park left Bloomington with a 2-5 overall record and a 1-5 league mark.

The Titans were led offensively by senior Danny Kent (Addison, Ill.-Fenwick). Kent ran the ball 18 times, accruing 93 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Dermot Smyth (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) threw for four touchdown passes with 237 passing yards, while sophomores Will Nazha (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington), GB Kruzick (Morton, Ill.-Morton), and Mac Brennan (Normal, Ill.-Normal Community) as well as junior Cooper King (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) each hauled in TD passes. Nazha led the team with five receptions and 80 yards, while Vetter added a career-high 69 yards on two grabs. 

Junior Joey DeMaio (Woodridge, Ill.-Lemont Township) topped the team with seven tackles. Senior Jack Nevins (Libertyville, Ill.-Libertyville) added six stops, with junior Austin Brown (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) and sophomore Nas King (Peoria, Ill-Manuel Academy) tallying five tackles apiece.

On the special teams front, sophomore Matt Worthington (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich) pinned NPU inside its own 20-yard line on his lone boot of the day. He added a 27-yard pass on a fourth-down conversion, finding freshman Luke Vetter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) for the first down and more. Nazha added 166 yards in kick returns, highlighted by a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It marked the second of the season for the dynamic return man.

Overall, the Green and White finished with 435 total yards of offense against North Park's 260 total. The Titans went 6-for-10 on third down and 3-for-3 on fourth, while the Vikings were held to a third-down conversion of 40 percent (4-for-10) and came up empty on one fourth-down try.

Illinois Wesleyan converted several late downs to march down the field on its opening drive en route to the game's first score. After riding Kent in the run game early on, Smyth connected with Nazha for 12 yards on fourth-and-four to inch inside NPU's 20. The Titans found the endzone with some trickery as Smyth hit sophomore offensive lineman Brennan for a 16-yard touchdown pass. Brennan caught the ball near the line of scrimmage and worked his feet down the NPU sideline for the unconventional score.

North Park leveled the score with a 13-play, 65-yard drive to send the IWU offense back out onto the field. Highlighted by a 34-yard scamper by Kent, the drive saw Cooper King take a pass 18 yards to set up first and goal from the NPU seven-yard line. Bulldozing his way through the Viking defense, Kent pinballed into the endzone for his first rushing touchdown of the season to reclaim a 14-7 Titan lead with 5:53 left in the first half.

Continuing the back-and-forth affair, NPU freshman quarterback Carson Lewis registered his second rushing TD of the afternoon to level the score at 14 with just under a minute and a half to go in the first half. 

A 49-yard return by Nazha on the ensuing kickoff gave the Green and White one last scoring opportunity before halftime. Beginning the drive at the NPU 40, Kruzick tight-roped the IWU sideline for a 17-yard catch to get the home team into the red zone. From there, the Titans turned to the run game as Kent polished off the drive with a three-yard score. The touchdown, Kent's second of the day, gave the home team a 21-14 advantage at the break.

Illinois Wesleyan negated a long kickoff return from North Park to start the third quarter as Nas King came through with a hard-nosed stop one-yard short of the sticks on fourth down. The play was a momentum shifter as IWU seized control with its largest lead of the day.

Worthington delivered a 27-yard pass into the hands of Vetter down the middle of the field to convert on fourth down via a fake punt. Continuing to use some trickery, IWU used a series of laterals as the Illinois Wesleyan offense found Vetter again on a 42-yard play, putting the Titans in prime scoring position. A series of short rushes put IWU on its own one-yard line on fourth down. Smyth ultimately found Cooper King for his fourth touchdown of the season, giving the Titans a 28-14 advantage. 

The Titans added a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Nazha to up the advantage back to two scores, 35-21, into the final quarter. Smyth found Kruzick and Nazha for scores over the final 15 minutes to complete the lopsided victory.

The Titans are on the road again next week, Saturday, Nov. 1, for a key matchup with Augustana College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Rock Island, Ill. at Ericson Field.

 
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