By: Illinois College won its 2015 finale on Saturday afternoon, surviving a second half push from the Pioneers in an overtime win.
Box Score WAUKESHA, Wis. – In the 2015 season finale for the Illinois College football team, the Blueboys sent Carroll on its way out of the Midwest Conference with a 30-27 defeat in overtime. After taking a 17-0 lead into halftime, IC survived a third quarter siege from the Pioneers to send the game into overtime, where it was won on a
Brady Huber touchdown pass to
Austin Ellsworth.
Going into the final game of the season, Illinois College needed a win to keep its streak of seasons at .500 or above alive. After posting the victory, the Blueboys have now had seven straight seasons without a sub-.500 record. Getting there wasn't easy, even after the Blueboys took a comfortable lead into the half. Illinois College may have come in as the top scoring offense in the MWC, but it took a different road to victory on Saturday compared to many of its games this season.
The first quarter was scoreless after each team's first two drives before Illinois College grinded out a 14-play, 65-yard march down the field, ending with a two-yard plunge from
Dyllan Bailey on fourth down to take a 7-0 lead with less than four minutes to play in the quarter. The key play on the drive also involved Bailey, with the junior running back hauling in a 12-yard completion from Huber on 4th and 10 from the Carroll 15.
The score remained 7-0 until the five-minute mark of the second quarter. A solid punt return had the Pioneers starting a drive from the Illinois College 26 and the Pioneers moved it to the IC 9. On a fourth and five play,
Dinari Ellis stepped in front of a Kyle Burlingame pass at the goal line, intercepting the Carroll quarterback and taking it back 100 yards to the house to shift the momentum of the game squarely in favor of the Blueboys. The defense stepped up again on the next series to force a turnover on downs and a time-consuming drive from the offense concluded with a 29-yard
Logan Uyetake field goal with less than 10 seconds remaining to send Illinois College to halftime with a 17-0 edge.
Receiving to begin the second half, Carroll began in Illinois College territory after a good return and went to the ground on six straight plays to reach the end zone for its opening touchdown. The IC offense faltered on its next drive and the Pioneers again took over in Blueboy territory. A rushing touchdown from Carroll was wiped out on a holding penalty, but on a second down and long the Pioneers completed a 50-yard touchdown from Burlingame to Austin Piekarski, making it 17-14 with barely six minutes elapsed in the quarter.
Greg Cross took the ensuing kickoff deep into Carroll territory at the 27, but Huber was stripped of the ball on a fourth down play and the Pioneers took the ball back over with a chance to tie or lead. Again relying on an efficient rushing offense, Carroll ran on seven consecutive plays to take a 21-17 lead at the four-minute mark of the third and went into the fourth quarter with that same advantage.
After forcing a punt from Carroll to begin the fourth, Illinois College would take the lead back with an 80-yard scoring drive. Huber hit
Andy Webb for 11 yards on a 3rd and 10 early in the sequence to keep the offense on the field and a 30-yard pass to Ellsworth moved the Blueboys across midfield. At the Carroll 27, Huber completed a 26-yard pass to
Kyle Obertino and Bailey finished off the drive two plays later with a three-yard run to put IC back on top, 24-21, with 11:07 remaining.
Carroll began the ensuing drive from the 50 and would kick a field goal to knot the game up at 24-24, which is where the score would be when regulation ended.
The Pioneers had the opening possession of overtime and a 16-yard run on the first play from scrimmage gave them a first down inside the Blueboy 10-yard line, however the defense stepped up again and Carroll settled for a 29-yard field goal to take a 27-24 lead.
Taking over with a chance to win, Huber gained seven yards on a completion to Webb and Bailey gave the Blueboys a fresh set of down on a four-yard carry to the Carroll 14. On first down, Huber looked to end zone and found Ellsworth deep in the right corner for the score and the victory.
In his final game for Illinois College, Huber ended 22-of-41 for 258 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Bailey was the leading rusher for the Blueboys with 58 yards on 14 carries. Ellsworth hauled in a game-high 78 yards on five catches, including the game-winning score.
Papa Sagna led the defensive effort for IC with eight tackles (seven solo).
Josh Brooks and Ellis each had six solo tackles as well.
"We battled injuries throughout the game and guys just kept stepping up," said Head Coach
Garrett Campbell. "I was proud of how we responded to each adverse situation!"
With the win in the No. 2 matchup of MWC Championship Weekend, the Blueboys finish the year third in the conference. Carroll (6-4) will find a new home in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) next year.
