JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – It was a happy homecoming for the Illinois College football team as it steamrolled Lawrence, 84-0, to post the program's 500th victory on Homecoming Saturday at England Stadium.
The victory moved the Blueboys to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the Midwest Conference. The Vikings dropped to 1-6 overall and 1-5 in league play.
IC 84 Lawrence 0
The offensive onslaught started early and often as IC rolled to a 21-0 first quarter lead.
Collin Brunstein latched on to a 40-yard pass from
Destin Chance to open the scoring.
Trey Birdsong was on the receiving end of another Chance touchdown toss almost five minutes later, this one from 58 yards out. IC closed out the quarter's scoring when
Talan McElroy returned an interception 38 yards for a score.
The second frame was much the same.
Kyle Leonard hauled in a Chance pass for a 20-yard score to open the period. Chance and Brunstein hooked up again, this time from 44 yards out and Chance closed out the scoring when he dashed in from the seven-yard line.
IC took a 42-0 lead into halftime.
Once again, the combination of Chance to Brunstein put IC on the board to open the third quarter when the duo hooked up on a three-yard scoring pass.
Lleyton Miller then dashed in from 45 yards before Brunstein and Chance connected for their final score of the day, and the longest, as they hit on a 67-yard scoring strike. Chance concluded the quarter's scoring when he crashed in from a yard out.
Backup quarterback
Tyson Elliott scored on a three-yard run to open the fourth quarter and Miller ended the day's scoring when he found pay dirt from 19 yards away.
Toby McTamney was perfect on his 10 extra point attempts while
Derek Frerker drilled both of his as well.
Chance finished the day 14-for-20 for 341 yards and six touchdowns. Brunstein grabbed six balls for 190 yards and four scores. The ground attack for IC was boosted by a pair of 100-yard rushers. Miller toted the ball eight times for 140 yards and two scores while
Tanner Spencer had 12 carries for 113 yards.
The defense pitched its first shutout of the season and was led by
Drake Stuart's 12 tackles.
Cam Dailey added 10 stops including a pair for loss.
Blue Notes
The Blueboys have won 13 of their past 15 regular-season games, and IC has also won 18 of its last 22 games overall… Lawrence has not scored on the IC defense in the last three meetings… the Blueboys are averaging 59.8 points per game in their past 12 regular-season contests dating back to last season. This year, IC has already scored 360 points (51.4 ppg)… Brunstein, the first player in IC history to have 4,000 career receiving yards, now has 4,434 yards and 65 TD receptions (both school records)... he is the only player in IC history to catch over 60 touchdown passes. Collin also now has 190 career catches which is fourth in IC history and needs 19 to vault into third place. Chance now has 98 career TD passes and needs nine to become the school's all-time leader.Â
Up Next
IC hits the road for the final time in the 2024 regular season next Saturday when it travels to Grinnell for a 1:00 p.m. Midwest Conference contest.
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