By: IC raced out to a 29-12 halftime lead and held on from there to notch a 42-26 win in the MWC South Division opener.
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – A steady rain throughout the first half couldn't do much to dampen the mood on Homecoming as the Illinois College football team jumped on top of Cornell College, 29-12, in the first half and held on for a 42-26 win over the Rams on Saturday. The game was the Midwest Conference South Division opener for both teams and the Blueboys move to 2-3 (1-0 MWC South) while Cornell drops to 2-3 (0-1 MWC South).
Illinois College took possession to start the game and was stymied by Cornell's defense, however the Blueboy defense stood firm, forcing the Rams to give the ball right back. Cornell's Aussie-style punter wasn't able to get his foot to it though and
Robert Carr II and
Ben Rakers tackled him to give IC the ball in the Cornell red zone. After
Jason Barbour picked up a first down on two carries,
Drew Chance took it in the rest of the way from five yards out. The
Zack DeWitt extra point was good to put the Blueboys on top, 7-0.
A huge kickoff return for Cornell set the Rams up at the Illinois College 10-yard line on the subsequent possession, but again the IC defense was up to the task and the Rams had to settle for a 27-yard field goal that made it 7-3. A big return on the other end by
Shak Johnson put Illinois College in Cornell territory to start its next drive and the Blueboys moved 42 yards in seven plays to score on a Barbour one-yard plunge. The snap on the extra point was bungled, so the lead was 13-3.
Before the first quarter would end, Cornell would score on a five-yard Devan Clark run, though that snap was also botched, making IC's lead 13-9. After a blocked
Dan Feld punt, Cornell took over in a first-and-goal scenario for the second time in the game but again couldn't take advantage. The Rams lost two yards in three plays and used a 25-yard field goal to slice the Illinois College lead down to 13-12.
Midway through the second quarter,
Steve Reyna supplied the Blueboys with a jolt of energy, picking off James Douglas and returning the ball 39 yards to the Cornell 21. A fourth-down conversion gave IC a first-and-goal, and Chance again ran it in himself, this time from 10 yards out. The DeWitt extra point made it 20-12.
A penalty on the kickoff put Cornell on its heels, starting its drive at its own 10-yard line. A
JD Roesch sack pushed the Rams back to their own 1, and with Aaron Nicoll's feet at the back of the end zone, the Ram punter stepped out of bounds for a safety that pushed the Blueboy edge to 22-12. In the final three minutes of the first half, Chance connected with
Glen Gibbons Jr. for a 41-yard catch-and-run, making it 29-12 at the break.
After all the fireworks of the first half, the third quarter was mostly a battle of field position. The closest either team came to a score was when DeWitt pushed a 47-yarder wide left. The Blueboys had possession as the third quarter came to an end and Barbour scored again from one yard out with under 14 minutes left, extending the Illinois College lead to 36-12.
To their credit, the Rams made it interesting. Cornell went down the field in under a minute on its next opportunity with the ball to cash in a touchdown. Later, another Feld punt was blocked and this one was recovered in the end zone to make it 36-26 with 6:49 to play.
The Blueboys either needed to milk the clock or come up with something on offense, and they did just that by going to Gibbons Jr. again. The speedy freshman left a path of befuddled Ram defenders in his wake on a 52-yard completion to make it 42-26 with 5:09 left. In desperation mode, Cornell came up empty on its next possession and the last chance for Cornell at the end of regulation ended up one yard short on a Douglas rush attempt that wouldn't have altered the final outcome anyway.
In addition to his two rushing touchdowns, Chance ended up 14-of-25 for 218 yards and two scores on the day. Barbour was the leading rusher for Illinois College with 65 yards on 19 carries. Gibbons Jr. had five catches for 130 yards and both of Chance's touchdown passes.
Kyle Obertino added in five catches for 64 yards.
Ryan Torrance led the IC defense with 14 tackles (eight solo), along with four tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Vincent Vanhorne added 11 tackles (six solo), including two for a loss. Roesch ended with seven tackles (four solo) and two sacks. Reyna also had a sack in addition to his interception.
Next weekend provides IC with a huge opportunity as the Blueboys travel to last year's MWC champion, Monmouth College, for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Oct. 14.
