By: Down 14 points at the break to Ripon, Illinois College came all the way back to force overtime but didn’t complete the two-point conversion that would have won it.
Box Score RIPON, Wis. – The Illinois College football team roared back from a 24-10 halftime deficit on the road at Ripon College to force overtime, but a two-point converstion attempt to win it was intercepted and the Red Hawks escaped with a 37-36 win on their Homecoming Weekend. IC falls to 1-3 with South Division play beginning next week.
Unlike a week ago when the Blueboys struggled on the offensive side of the ball,
Brady Huber and the IC attack moved quickly up and down the field, accumulating 494 yards of total offense. For the third time in four games this season, Huber threw for five touchdown passes.
The problem for Illinois College this time around was Ripon's triple-option attack. The Red Hawks ran 52 times for 354 yards, an average of 6.8 yards per carry. All five Ripon scores came on the ground.
Ripon took the opening drive and marched down inside the Illinois College five-yard line before stalling and settling for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. After IC missed a field goal that would have tied it, the Red Hawks took over on their own 20-yard line and burst open a hole that allowed Brett Garst to rumble 80 yards and a 10-0 Red Hawk lead after the first quarter.
The Blueboys were driving when the first quarter ended and that possession ended in a
Logan Uyetake field goal to cut it to 10-3. Ripon took over on the IC 37 after a good return however, and after five straight running plays were in the end zone again. The point after was missed and Ripon was up, 16-3.
Answering right back, Illinois College began a drive on its own 47-yard line and converted two critical third downs before Huber found
Kyle Obertino from 16 yards out. The Uyetake extra point made it 16-10.
Both teams then held on defense, giving possession to Ripon with 3:23 before the half. An eight-play, 62-yard drive took more than three minutes off the clock and a two-point conversion attempt was good as well, sending the teams to the locker rooms with the Red Hawks ahead, 24-10.
A focused Blueboy team emerged for the second half and immediately put together a 63-yard touchdown drive.
Brendan Finley had a 24-yard grab on the drive to move the ball into the Ripon red zone and he ended it three plays later from 13 yards out from Huber.
The Red Hawks once again had an answer to an Illinois College score, using a short field to march 49 yards and reach the end zone for a 30-17 lead. On the PAT,
Adam Jackson got through the line and blocked it, giving the Blueboys a shred of momentum.
That momentum continued into the next IC possession. A 33-yard catch by
Andy Webb was followed one play later by a 22-yard
Austin Ellsworth touchdown grab to make it 30-23. The Uyetake extra point missed however and it remained a seven-point deficit, though the third quarter would end with the Blueboys advancing towards midfield.
Huber hit Obertino and Uyetake with first down passes to keep the drive alive at the beginning of the fourth quarter and eventually Obertino would make a 38-yard touchdown catch to knot the game up at 30-30. Shockingly, after three quarters of offensive fireworks, those would be the last points of regulation.
Moving to overtime, Ripon had the opening possession and scored in four plays to take a 37-30 lead. Illinois College then moved inside the Red Hawk 10-yard line on an 18-yard pass to
Bo Davis and Huber would later find Finley for another touchdown from one yard out, making it 37-36. The Blueboys would choose to go for two points and the win however, and Huber's pass attempt was intercepted in the end zone to bring the game to a close.
"I challenged this young team at halftime to rise up and put together a complete second half and I loved their response," said Head Coach
Garrett Campbell. "The determination and grit they showed on the road was very impressive. I am very proud of this group! We will continue to get better and mature one day at a time."
Huber ended the game 28-of-42 for 345 yards and five scores. He added 47 yards on the ground on 10 carries, while Davis led the Blueboys with 70 yards on 17 carries. Through the air, Obertino accumulated 112 yards on six catches with a pair of touchdowns. Uyetake made 11 catches for 81 yards and Finley had 54 yards and two touchdowns.
The Illinois College defense was paced by
Keenan Jones, who made nine tackles (five solo).
Ryan Torrance and
Josh Brooks each ended with eight tackles and
Matt Graef had seven.
Though off to a bumpy start on the season, the South Division games now will determine the course of Illinois College's 2015 campaign. The Blueboys ran through the South last season to a 5-0 record and a division title. The defense of that title begins on Oct. 10 with a road game at Monmouth College starting at 1 p.m.
