JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College Lady Blues made history on Saturday afternoon, hosting the first flag football game ever played on the campus of Illinois College at England Stadium and defeating the North Park Vikings in a thrilling 28-26 contest.
The Lady Blues improve to 2-1 on the season and the Vikings fall to 0-5.
Illinois College totaled 430 yards of offense in the victory, highlighted by a dominant performance from Abby Flowers and a big day from quarterback Ella Ausmus.
Flowers was the go-to target throughout the afternoon, finishing with 14 receptions for 251 yards and three touchdowns. The freshman from Carrollton, Ill. accounted for a major portion of the Lady Blues' offensive production and delivered several big plays in the passing game.
Ausmus led the offense with a strong outing, completing 24 of 38 passes for 326 yards and five touchdowns. In addition to Flowers' three scores, Olivia Hulsey added a touchdown reception while finishing with two catches for 10 yards. Haylie Orton recorded three receptions for 42 yards, while Reagan Oster and Alesia Parks also added receptions.
The Lady Blues also gained 74 yards on the ground, led by Oster with 30 yards on five carries. Ausmus added 35 rushing yards on eight attempts.
Illinois College jumped out to an early advantage and carried a 20-7 lead into halftime behind its explosive passing attack.
North Park rallied in the second half and tied the game at 20-20 with 10:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Blues defense came up with a key stop on the one-point conversion to keep the game even. Illinois College regained the lead moments later when pressure forced a North Park fumble in the end zone that resulted in a safety, putting IC back in front 22-20.
North Park mounted one final push late in the game, connecting on a 50-yard Hail Mary touchdown with 1:02 remaining to pull within two points. The Lady Blues defense once again came up with the stop on the conversion attempt, allowing Illinois College to hold on for the historic 28–26 victory.
Defensively, Illinois College recorded 41 flag pulls and forced two interceptions to help secure the victory. Holly Morehart led the Lady Blues with nine tackles, while Mady Brewer and Lexi Van Dyke each added five tackles and Kylie Rakers contributed four. Kassie Weideman and Deniyah Lockman each recorded interceptions for the Lady Blues, while Jourdan Stevens added the team's lone sack.
Up Next
The Lady Blues will hit the road next weekend, traveling to Bloomington, Illinois for a pair of games against familiar opponents. Illinois College will face Illinois Wesleyan at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28 before also taking on Benedictine later in the evening.
