DECATUR, Ill. - A fourth-quarter comeback came up short Saturday night, Oct. 17, as the Illinois Wesleyan University football team fell to Millikin University at Frank M. Lindsay Field. The Titans (5-2, 3-2 CCIW), who trailed by two scores in the second half, had two late looks at the endzone but were staved off, 43-35.
Trailing 21-7 out of halftime, Illinois Wesleyan opened the second half with its second scoring drive of the night. After riding back-to-back carries by sophomore Alex Pavelka (Tinley Park, Ill.-Andrew) to a first down, sophomore Kyle Beaty (Normal, Ill.-Normal Community) hit senior Jimmy Deacy (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) and sophomore Cade Danko (Bloomington, Ill.-Tri-Valley) to move the ball toward midfield. Five straight run plays, along with a face mask penalty against Millikin, pushed the Titans into the red zone. Continuing to lean on the ground game, senior Malik Gray (Chicago, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) took the ball for gains of four and eight yards to take the ball down to the MU four-yard line. With a fresh set of downs and Beaty in the shotgun, the quarterback took it himself with a scramble into the endzone to make it a one-score game, 21-14. The four-yard touchdown run by Beaty capped a 10-play, 76-yard drive that chewed up 5:33 of clock.
People are also reading…
Millikin took full advantage of a 33-yard kickoff return on the next play, needing just six plays to find the endzone and reclaim a 14-point cushion, 28-14.
The Titans went right back to work, with Pavelka opening the drive with a 16-yard run. Beaty found junior Will Nazha (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) for a 13-yard pickup to convert on third and long before hitting Deacy and Nazha for 16 and 25-yard receptions. Illinois Wesleyan finished the drive on the first play of the fourth quarter, with Beaty running the ball up the middle on fourth down for his second rushing score of the night.
Back within a touchdown, key stops by Gavin LaDere (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East), Alexander Jackson (Harvey, Ill.-Bremen), and Nathan Schmidt (Chicago, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep), along with a false start, forced an MU punt.
With momentum on the side of IWU, Pavelka ripped off a 35-yard first-down run to take the Titans across midfield. Deacy hauled in a 24-yard catch and back-to-back three-yard rushes took the Green and White down to the Millikin 14. Beaty connected on a short pass across the middle to sophomore Dylan Hodges (Sycamore, Ill.-Sycamore), who sliced his way through the Big Blue secondary for the touchdown.
A six-minute scoring drive covered 73 yards over 11 plays, aided by a roughing the passer penalty and a fourth-and-long conversion, and pushed Millikin back in front, 35-28, with 1:49 to play.
The game was far from over, as the Titans responded with a one-play drive. On the heels of a 26-yard return by Nazha, Beaty aired out a dart down the Titan sideline to Danko, who took it to the endzone for a 64-yard touchdown to knot the game, 35-35.
The Big Blue bounced back with a 64-yard play of their own, a rush from AJ Lee, to charge back ahead, 42-35.
With a long field in front of them and one timeout, the Green and White used a 66-yard catch by Danko to convert on fourth and long and keep their comeback attempt alive. The play marked the longest throw and reception of Beaty and Danko's careers, respectively. Standing 12 yards from the endzone, the Titans looked to the far corner but could not come down with it. Nazha hauled in a seven-yard catch to bring IWU inside the 10, but one last toss fell incomplete as the comeback was thwarted.
The Titans finished with 480 yards of total offense, with Beaty throwing for 338 yards. He completed 17-of-33 passes with two touchdowns. The Big Blue totaled 416 yards of total offense, including 171 yards rushing to go with 245 passing yards. The Green and White went 5-for-12 on third down while holding MU to a 1-of-9 showing, but Millikin went 4-for-4 on fourth down tries compared to IWU's 2-for-5 showing.
Pavelka led the ground game with 14 carries for 98 yards and a score. Danko put together a career game, racking up 177 yards receiving on five catches. Nazha was credited with 208 all-purpose yards. He made five catches for 60 yards with 148 yards in returns.
Defensively, a senior (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Prospect) totaled 12 tackles with two for loss to lead the Titans. Jackson, LaDere, and senior Joey DeMaio (Woodridge, Ill.-Lemont) notched five apiece.
Illinois Wesleyan is back in action at home Saturday, Oct. 24, for a 1 p.m. kickoff against Elmhurst University at Tucci Stadium.
