By: Three field goals by Zack DeWitt and an opportunistic defense lifted Illinois College to victory on Saturday night.
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College football team used a stifling defense and the leg of
Zack DeWitt to fend off Knox College for a 23-13 victory on Saturday night. The Blueboys struck quickly for two touchdowns in the first quarter, then let DeWitt do the rest as his three field goals pushed the game out of reach. IC improved its record to 3-4 (2-1 Midwest Conference South Division), while the Prairie Fire, in the midst of their best season in more than a decade, fell to 4-3 (1-2 MWC South).
Early in the contest, the Illinois College offense looked unstoppable. After a pass interference call moved the chains,
Drew Chance ran to the Knox 30-yard line on a scramble and hit
Mason Farris on a short pass three plays later that Farris broke open for a 27-yard touchdown, capping a six-play drive that covered 58 yards in less than 90 seconds.
A big kickoff return by Knox meant that the Prairie Fire opened their first possession in Illinois College territory. Knox went to the ground for eight of the nine plays on the drive, with Matt McCaffrey connecting with Malik Hamilton for 19 yards on the one passing play. Braeden Westfall took the ball in from one yard out for the score, but the hold was botched on the point after, allowing Illinois College to remain on top.
A short kick and a return by
Steven Evanoff gave the Blueboys the ball on their own 40 to start the second drive of the game. This time, IC needed the ball an even shorter time than on the first drive. Chance completed a pass to Farris for 40 yards, with the sophomore eventually being brought down on the Knox 20-yard line.
Greg Cross then broke a run up the middle to the Knox 5, and went in on IC's third play to finish off a 60-yard drive that took a mere 38 seconds.
The score was 14-6 in favor of Illinois College with not even half of the first quarter complete, but the offenses would suddenly go silent. IC embarked on a long drive that bridged the first and second quarters, but after 18 plays and nearly eight minutes of possession, DeWitt missed a 42-yard field goal. Later in the quarter,
Logan West forced a fumble and made the recovery to give possession back to the Blueboys. A series of empty drives followed, with Knox ending the first half by driving down to the IC 20-yard line before
Steve Reyna sacked McCaffrey for a 14-yard loss to end the second quarter.
Down eight, Knox was still very much alive as the third quarter began, but Reyna made a play that helped shift the momentum in Illinois College's favor. After three rushes on Knox's first drive came up short of a first down, Garrett Rau boomed a punt that then took a series of favorable hops to end up on the IC 1-yard line. The Prairie Fire were in the process of surrounding the ball but hadn't yet touched it when Reyna picked it up and ran the 71-yard punt back 72 yards. Only a trip over his own blocker kept Reyna from taking it all the way into the end zone. Though a personal foul pushed the Blueboys back 15 yards, they still were able to drive inside the Knox 10 and cash in a 25-yard DeWitt field goal to extend out to a 17-6 advantage.
Early in the fourth quarter, an Illinois College drive stalled in Knox territory. After some initial confusion about which unit was to come out on the field, the Blueboys eventually snapped the ball with one tick left on the play clock, but that was no concern for DeWitt. His 48-yard field goal made it 20-6 with less than 14 minutes remaining.
Knox hadn't looked all that dangerous on offense since the first quarter, but the Prairie Fire showed some life with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a McCaffrey touchdown pass to a wide-open Kobe Shutter from 11 yards out. The extra point was good, cutting Illinois College's lead to 20-13 with 8:07 to play.
A completion from Chance to
Logan Uyetake for 24 yards brought the Blueboys into Knox territory, then Chance moved the chains with a 12-yard scramble, leaving IC just outside of the Prairie Fire red zone. Knox's defense stood firm to force another field goal attempt for DeWitt, but the junior calmly split the uprights from 48 yards yet again, pushing the Blueboy lead to 10 at 23-13.
As the clock ticked under three minutes to play, Knox was in a hurry and had the ball near midfield when McCaffrey tried to force a third-down pass downfield. Reyna stepped in front of the pass on the sideline and made the interception, sealing the win for the Blueboys. IC would run some time off the clock and be forced to punt, but the Prairie Fire bobbled the punt and
Parker Stokes recovered the fumble to send IC into the victory formation.
Chance ended the game 18-of-32 for 168 yards with a touchdown, while adding a team-high 79 yards rushing on 14 carries. Cross added 54 yards on the ground on 14 carries, while
Daniel Modelski had two rushes for 17 yards. Farris ended with four catches for 81 yards and a score. Uyetake was the main target for Chance, finishing with six catches for 49 yards.
Kyle Obertino hauled in five passes for 34 yards.
Reyna was the star defensively for the Blueboys with nine tackles (six solo), with a sack and an interception.
Ryan Torrance had eight tackles (seven solo), while
JD Roesch and
Josh Brooks each added sacks of McCaffrey in the game.
Illinois College will head out on the road next weekend, facing Grinnell College on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m.
