RIPON, Wis. – The Illinois College football team held Ripon to just 122 yards of offense and blanked the Red Hawks, 31-0, in a Midwest Conference contest on Saturday at Hopp Stadium.
IC is now 5-2 overall and 4-2 in Midwest Conference action. Ripon moved to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the league.
IC 31 Ripon 0
The Blueboys' defense was the story of the day. IC limited the Red Hawks to just seven first downs and 46 passing yards while posting the shutout.
Drake Stuart was the defensive standout, posting seven total tackles, including a tackle for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, an interception, and a pass breakup.
Carson Rakers added five stops with a TFL, while
Landon Grapperhaus and
Chase Pacatte each added four and a TFL.
On the other side of the ball, quarterback
Tyson Elliott was the story for IC. He went 15-for-29 for 230 yards with a touchdown.
Kyle Leonard grabbed five of Elliott's passes for 102 yards.
Lleyton Miller picked up 51 yards on 12 carries to pace the ground attack.
The Blueboys took the opening drive down the field and took a 7-0 lead when Elliott found
Zac Laird on a two-yard toss. The game remained 7-0 until
Tanner Spencer crashed in from two yards out in the second quarter to give the Blueboys a 14-0 lead.
IC got one more score before halftime when Miller found pay dirt on a 28-yard run and IC had a 21-0 lead at the break.
The only points of the third quarter came on a 39-yard field goal by
Toby McTamney. McTamney was also perfect on all four of his point-after-touchdowns on the day.
The Blueboys closed out the scoring, fittingly, when the defense posted a score thanks to a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown by
Xavier Koch.
Blue Notes
The Blueboys have now won 20 of their past 24 regular-season games… IC has also won 25 of its last 31 games overall… the shutout was the second in the past four games for IC's defense.
Up Next
The Blueboys return to the home confines of England Stadium for the final time in 2025 when they host Grinnell on Saturday for Senior Day. Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
