By: The Maroons were granted three free first downs via IC penalties, and the Blueboys had a potential early touchdown taken off the board in a 28-7 defeat.
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College football team mustered little offense on Saturday night and had a spate of penalties both disrupt its own drives while contributing to the successes that the University of Chicago enjoyed. The Maroons scored a touchdown in each quarter and emerged from England Stadium with a 28-7 victory over the Blueboys. Chicago is now 1-2 on the season while IC drops to 0-3.
Two of Illinois College's best scoring opportunities were squandered on the opening two possessions.
Logan Uyetake caught a
Drew Chance pass on a third down and weaved his way 49 yards for a touchdown, only for a penalty to bring the ball back. The Blueboys would then be forced to punt. On Chicago's first possession,
Ryan Torrance intercepted Campbell Garrett on a third down and raced the interception all the way down to the Maroon 12-yard line. A personal foul call on IC's first play moved the ball in the wrong direction and the drive ended with
Zack DeWitt missing a 42-yard field goal attempt.
Chicago took advantage, moving 75 yards in nine plays on the subsequent drive. Chandler Carroll took the ball to the house from 13 yards out for a 7-0 lead. After the Illinois College offense was forced off the field at the beginning of the second quarter, the Maroons doubled their lead. On a third down in the IC red zone, Garrett connected with Dante Nepa for a 16-yard completion despite a flag being thrown for pass interference on the Blueboys. With the penalty declined, Chicago increased its edge to 14-0.
Illinois College would go three-and-out on its next two possessions, but the defense held firm to keep the Blueboys in the game. A hail mary pass on the final play of the second quarter was picked off in the end zone by
Vincent Vanhorne. The trend continued in the third quarter as
Nick Tadie stepped in front of a Garrett pass. The return by the senior cornerback started the Blueboys in Chicago territory, but the offense again kept the ball for just three plays.
The Maroons took over on their own 25 and were granted a free 15 yards after a hit out-of-bounds was spotted. With Chicago going for it on a fourth down, a bad snap that would have given the Blueboys excellent field position was instead a free first down for the visitors after an offside infraction. Later in the drive, Tadie would have had his second interception of the game but IC was flagged for another offside. Eventually, Chicago turned to its ground game and Carroll ran on four consecutive plays, going into the end zone from 17 yards out to make it 21-0. That would be the score as the final quarter began.
The fourth quarter began with a missed field goal from DeWitt from what would have been a school-record distance of 52 yards. For the second time in the game, Chicago responded to a missed IC field goal with another long scoring drive. After five straight rushes from Carroll, the Maroons had a fourth-and-one at the Illinois College 42-yard line. Going with the home run ball after being given a free play on another IC offside call, Garrett found Jamie Rieger for the long touchdown, upping Chicago's lead to 28-0.
Illinois College got on the board on its next drive. Starting on their own 35, the Blueboys moved quickly downfield when Chance hit
Kyle Obertino for 32 yards. Chance used his legs later in the drive, picking up first downs on back-to-back plays while scrambling for 11 yards each time. Facing a third-and-goal from the Chicago 10, Chance completed a ball to Obertino in the corner of the end zone for the lone IC score in the game.
Chance ended the night 17-of-32 for 123 yards with a score and no interceptions. He was also the leading rusher for the Blueboys with 10 carries for 37 yards. Obertino ended with a team-high 49 receiving yards, while
Bryce McKinney led IC with four catches, picking up 25 yards.
Vanhorne was the leading tackler for Illinois College, making seven solo stops and ending with 11 tackles and an interception. Torrance had 10 tackles (five solo) and a pick.
Tyree Washington finished the game with nine tackles and a sack.
Illinois College goes on the road next weekend for a 6 p.m. kick-off at Beloit College on Sept. 30.
