Note: Statistics are not complete at the time of posting and will be updated to reflect corrections when made available.
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Playing through rain, the Illinois Wesleyan University football team leaned on its defense in a 17-10 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin win over Augustana College at Lindberg Stadium Saturday afternoon, Sept. 19. With the win, the Titans jumped to 3-0 on the year, 1-0 in CCIW play and are off to their best start since 2015. Meanwhile, Augie dove to 1-2 on the year and 0-1 in league action.
In a battle between two teams picked to finish third and fourth in the league, Saturday's showdown came down to defense and IWU's unit was up for the task. Overall, the Green and White forced five turnovers as it finished the day with three interceptions and two fumbles to knock off an Augie team predicted to finish ahead of the Titans in the standings. Both IWU and AC were receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll prior to Saturday's meeting.
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The IWU defense swarmed the Vikings, limiting the home team to 375 yards of total offense. Junior Lucas Lappin (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich) paced the squad with 10 tackles and a pick-six. Lappin, who has had a pick in each of IWU's first three games this season, is the first Titan with an interception in three straight games since Frank Roti in 2022.
Senior Nathan Schmidt (Chicago, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) was credited with two sacks for a loss of 18 yards. Senior Alex Jackson (Harvey, Ill.-Bremen) added a quarterback takedown. Senior Marcheon Griffin (Elmhurst, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) was credited with two quarterback hurries as Illinois Wesleyan battled on the line.
Illinois Wesleyan finished with 298 yards of total offense, totaling 193 yards through the air and 105 on the ground. Junior Tony Noto (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central) and sophomore Alex Pavelka (Tinley Park, Ill.-Andrew) shouldered much of the workload, with Noto going for 39 yards on 16 attempts. Pavelka tacked on 29 yards on 13 carries. Senior Dermot Smyth (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) completed 11-of-29 passes for 193 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Luke Vetter (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East). Junior Will Nazha (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) led a balanced receiving corps with three catches for 57 yards.
Neither team could muster much offensively on their opening possessions as IWU and Augie traded punts. After a rush by Noto, Smyth connected with Nazha for a big gain to move the sticks to the Augustana 32-yard line. With a full backfield, Smyth settled in between Noto and Pavelka and ripped off a 17-yard scamper into the red zone. The Titans looked toward the end zone on back-to-back downs but saw the throws fall incomplete. Penalties backed the Titans up and left them settling for a long field goal attempt, which ultimately missed as the Vikings took over from their own 22-yard line.
Augie marched across midfield and into IWU territory with a series of completions before splitting the uprights for a 42-yard field goal to take the lead, 3-0.
Illinois Wesleyan put together a scoring drive that spanned the end of the first and start of the second quarter, with Noto opening with a six-yard rush. The junior running back came up huge in the passing game with a third-down catch, hauling in Smyth's pass at the IWU 30 and bullying his way across to the Augie 48 to move the sticks. Pavelka pushed ahead for a three-yard gain for the final play of the first period. Flipping sides of the field, the Titans looked down field for Nazha and gained 15 yards on a pass interference penalty against the Vikings. The Green and White capitalized on the fresh set of downs with some trickery. A series of laterals had the Augie defense scrambling as the ball returned to Smyth, who aired out a 30-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Vetter down the boundary. The sophomore tight end was all alone on the left side of the end zone as he hauled in his first career touchdown reception.
Illinois Wesleyan bolstered its lead with a 24-yard field goal from sophomore Lach Sullivan (Rochester, Ill.-Rochester) to jump ahead, 10-3, with around six minutes to go in the half.
The Titans came up with big plays over the course of the final five minutes ahead of the break. The Vikings went for it on fourth-and-goal from the IWU two, but were immediately met by Griffin in the backfield. With Griffin wrapped around the legs, Schmidt finished off the play with a monstrous hit to the torso to thwart Augie's scoring hopes.
IWU's offense moved the ball a bit before Augustana forced a punt. Junior Matt Worthington (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich) delivered with a high-soaring boot that sophomore Dylan Hodges (Sycamore, Ill.-Sycamore) poked loose. Senior Carson Green (Centralia, Ill.-Centralia) pounced on the football to put it right back in the hands of the Titans with under a minute to go in the half.
Leading 10-3 out of the break, defense was the dominant force in the third quarter as both offenses were held scoreless. The Titans tacked onto their lead, however, courtesy of Lappin's pick-six. Reading the Augie quarterback, Lappin jumped a route across the middle and took it back for a 30-yard touchdown. The pick was the third of the season for Lappin and pushed IWU ahead by two scores, 17-3.
The Green and White hauled in interceptions from senior Ian Whitaker (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) and junior Clint Teater (Morton, Ill.-Morton) to keep the Vikings offense in check down the stretch. Augie managed to put together one late drive, moving the ball 72 yards over seven plays. Despite the Vikings' late score, IWU grabbed a 17-10 victory.
Illinois Wesleyan returns home for the first of two straight home games next Saturday, Sept. 26, as the Titans host No. 2 Wheaton College. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. inside Tucci Stadium and will see IWU athletics recognize outstanding accomplishments of spring sport student-athletes at halftime.
