Illinois Wesleyan used an unstoppable rushing performance to roll past North Park, 56-6, at Tucci Stadium Saturday, Oct. 30. With the win, the Titans boosted their record to 3-5 overall and 3-4 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, while the Vikings (2-6, 2-5 CCIW) were halted in their pursuit of their third straight win.
Illinois Wesleyan motored for 429 rushing yards, the most by the Titans since rushing for 447 yards against Lakeland, Sept. 29, 1965. IWU was led by senior Anthony Marre's (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Glenbard North) 243 yards on 16 carries. His rushing total marks the third-highest in program history and the most since Deon Hornsby tallied 244 Sept. 14, 1996. Marre rushed for three scores, including a 91-yard scamper, while sophomore Seth Albin (Midlothian, Ill.-Oak Forest) added 99 yards rushing with a touchdown on 11 attempts.
The Green and White were incredibly efficient in the passing game, as sophomore Sage Shindler (Chicago, Ill.-Walter Payton) finished 15-for-18 for 161 yards and two touchdown passes. Freshman Ryan Saxe (Palatine, Ill.-Fremd) went 1-for-1 with a 10-yard touchdown pass, the first of his career, while senior Caleb Robinson (Brighton, Ill.-Southwestern) went 2-for-2 for 14 yards.
Overall, the Titans finished with 614 yards of total offense, 429 on the ground and 185 through the air. Meanwhile, the Vikings finished with 287 yards of offense, including just 82 yards on the ground as IWU controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. North Park recorded 205 passing yards while completing 15-of-40 attempts.
Marre was IWU's top receiver, finishing with five catches for 72 yards out of the backfield. Junior Charlie Hamilton (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) made four grabs for 43 yards and a TD, while junior Matt Young (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) and senior Zack Tencza (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) also hauled in touchdown passes.
Defensively, it was a total team effort for the Titans, who held the Vikings to its lowest point total of the season. Connor Nigro (Lisle, Ill.-Lisle) led IWU with six tackles, including 0.5 for loss, while Michael Alvarado (Plainfield, Ill.-Providence Catholic), senior Tyler Maple (Plainfield, Ind.-Plainfield), and senior Skyler Metzger (Northbrook, Ill.-Glenbrook North) added five stops apiece. Metzger also forced a fumble. Freshman Frank Roti (Orland Hills, Ill.-Andrew), junior Conor Murphy (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley), and freshman Zach McNees (Hillsboro, Mo.-Hillsboro) registered one tackle for loss each, with McNees notching a nine-yard sack.
On the special teams front, junior Andrew Stange (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich) went a perfect 8-for-8 in PATs, tying the school record. He also kicked off nine times, averaging 62.7 yards per kick, with three touchbacks.
The Titans found the endzone on their first four possessions to run out to a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Shindler connected with Tencza for a four-yard touchdown catch to cap IWU's nine-play, 75-yard opening drive.
Marre punched it in from three yards out on IWU's next possession, a 13-play, 99-yard drive, to put the Green and White up 14-0 after 15 minutes of play.
After Murphy and McNees smothered the North Park ball carrier on fourth and two to turn it over to IWU on downs, Watson took a reverse 28 yards for a touchdown.
Another strong stance by the defense set Illinois Wesleyan up just shy of midfield. Back-to-back runs by Marre of 31 and 11 yards got the Titans into the redzone with a fresh set of downs. After a three-yard run by freshman Melchizedek Woodson (St. Louis, Mo.-Ladue Horton Watkins), Shindler found Hamilton for a 13-yard TD to make it 28-0 in favor of IWU.
North Park added a 14-yard touchdown pass late in the second period, but a missed point after left Illinois Wesleyan's lead at 28-6 into halftime.
The Titans ran away with it in the second half, as Marre broke loose for a 63-yard TD scamper down the IWU sideline. He added a 91-yard touchdown run three minutes later, and Albin followed with a 32-yard rushing score later in the period to put the Green and White up 49-6.
Saxe put a bow on the win with his first career touchdown pass. The freshman QB led the Titans down field on a nine-yard, 61-play drive. Woodson ran for seven yards on first down and Saxe added runs of 15 and 18 yards to give IWU first and 10 from the North Park 26. Following a pair of runs by junior Zach Bozarth (Worden, Ill.-Metro-East Lutheran), Saxe aired out a 10-yard touchdown pass to Young in the corner of the endzone. Stange's PAT split the uprights, sealing IWU's 56-6 victory.
Football Runs Past North Park, 56-6
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211030_octx.xml
2021
North Park
6
Illinois Wesleyan
56
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Park (2-6) | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Illinois Wesleyan (3-5) | 14 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 56 |
Oct 30, 2021