JACKSONVILLE, Ill.- The Illinois College Blueboys opened their 2021 season at home hosting the Lakeland University Muskies on Thursday night. The Blueboys came up just short in the end with a final score of 18-28.
IC was led by
Destin Chance who finished the night 15-29 with 143 passing yards recording one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown.
Trevor Smalls led the backfield with 91 rushing yards averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
KJ Corley was the leading receiver for Illinois College recording 100 yards with one touchdown.
Kyle Lane was able to make an impact on the defensive side of the ball leading the team with 11 total tackles.
IC was able to get on the board first after a four-yard touchdown run by Chance. This topped off a 10-play, 75-yard drive by the Blueboys. After a missed extra point, Illinois College stood ahead 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Lakeland was able to answer with a 24-yard passing touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter to take the lead 7-6. Illinois College would set up their drive at the home 24 yard line with 7:55 left in the second quarter. Smalls was able to explode out of the backfield for a huge gain of 38 yards after being tackled at the visitor 38 yard line to get the team in scoring range. Chance would then connect with Corley for a 32-yard touchdown to put the Blueboys back on top. After a failed two point conversion, Illinois College stood ahead 12-7.
The next drive for the Muskies proved to be a short one. The team was able to connect on a 63-yard passing play that resulted in a touchdown to put Lakeland back ahead with a score of 14-12. This would be the score as both teams headed in for halftime.
Illinois College received the second half kickoff in hopes of some early success coming out of the locker room. The team finished a 10-play, 64-yard drive with a one yard touchdown run by
Keyton Mitchell in their first series of the second half to retake the lead 18-14.
Lakeland was able to finish the game with two more touchdowns while holding the Blueboys scoreless in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Illinois College will look to bounce back next week as they begin MWC play traveling to face University of Chicago on Saturday, 9/11 at 1:00 PM.
