MOUNT VERNON, Iowa. - The Illinois College football team continued Midwest Conference play with a visit to Cornell College Saturday afternoon. The Blueboys dominated the Rams by the final score of 76-34. With the Monmouth victory over Lake Forest, Illinois College now stands in a tie for first place in the MWC standings with Monmouth with identical 7-1 conference records. IC has the advantage over Monmouth as the Blueboys defeated the Fighting Scots earlier in the season.
The quarterback and wide receiver combination of
Destin Chance and
Collin Brunstein is lighting up secondaries and achieving numbers the IC record books has never seen. In today's victory, Chance threw for 532 yards and eight touchdowns which broke the IC single-season passing yards record as he has thrown for 3,366 yards this season that includes 43 passing touchdowns. Brunstein etched his name deeper in the IC record books by adding nine receptions for 251 yards and four receiving touchdowns.
Defensively,
Cam Dailey led the charge with 10 total tackles while
Cory Walbert had two incredible interceptions that included a 47-yard pick-six.
Illinois College received the ball to start the game and marched down the field led by senior running back
Thomas Little with three carries for 35 yards. Chance capped off the opening drive by connecting with Brunstein for a 20-yard touchdown that took the early 6-0 lead. On the ensuing Ram drive, Walbert intercepted the pass from Cornell's quarterback John Smith and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. After the successful extra-point attempt from
Toby McTamney, IC took the quick 14-0 lead.
The Blueboys defense forced a Cornell punt that gave the offense the ball on the their own 39-yard line. Chance led the offense down the field that included a 22-yard rush that put the Blueboys in redzone territory. Chance capped off the drive with a 10-yard receiving touchdown to
Cameron Lewis that made the score 21-0. The Rams responded with a scoring drive that was finished by BooBoo Browning on a two-yard rushing touchdown. Chance closed out the first quarter with back-to-back passing touchdowns to Brunstein that included yardages of 24 and 70 yards that made the score 35-7.
In the opening minute of the second quarter, Chance connected with
Grant Stegman for a 15-yard receiving touchdown. On the next Rams drive, Cornell's Cole Reed launched a 45-yard deep ball to Logan Godfrey that put the Rams on the 10-yard line. On the next play, IC's
Drake Stuart intercepted the pass from Smith that eliminated the Rams opportunity. Chance and the offense march nearly the entire length of the field as the drive was capped off with a four-yard touchdown to Brunstein. Cornell responded with a scoring drive on a Tony Gomez 10-yard rushing touchdown that made the score 49-14. The Blueboys answered right back with a 15-yard touchdown to Stegman for his second touchdown of the day. IC took the 59-20 lead at the half.
On the ensuing Cornell drive, the IC defense held strong and forced a turnover-on-downs after a incredible tackle by
Keane Shaw for no yards. On the next IC drive, Little busted up the middle for a 24-yard rushing touchdown for his second score of the game. The Rams responded with a scoring drive that included a 32-yard deep ball to Trey Birdsong that made the score 66-27. Cornell's Gomez added a three-yard rushing touchdown late in the quarter. In the fourth quarter, IC's McTamney drained a 33-yard field goal which was followed up with a nine-yard receiving touchdown by
Cameron Lewis that made the granted the final score.
For the game, IC displayed 780 total offensive yards that averaged 11.5 yards per play.
The Blueboys will close out the regular season with a trip to Beloit College on Saturday, November 11 with kickoff scheduled for 12:00 PM in Beloit, Wisconsin.
