Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Elmhurst College football team's rally fell just short in a 30-26 loss at Illinois Wesleyan University, 

Both teams struggled to hang on to the football as the two squads combined for 10 turnovers.

Illinois Wesleyan (5-1, 2-1 CCIW) jumped out to a 13-0 cushion before halftime. The Titans took the opening kickoff and drover 75 yards to take a 7-0 lead on a 16-yard touchdown run by Bo Lanter. 

Elmhurst (4-2, 1-2 CCIW) struggled to get rolling on offense. After turning the ball over on downs on its opening possession, the Bluejays fumbled the ball on their next possession, and the Titans intercepted Elmhurst on its third offensive possession. 

Illinois Wesleyan grabbed a 13-0 early in the second quarter. Brien Rooney capped a short 14-yard scoring drive after the Elmhurst interception with a three-yard touchdown run. 

The Bluejays' defense came out red hot in the second half, forcing three straight IWU turnovers. The Bluejays took advantage of two of the Titans' miscues to pull to within a point. 

Matt Streit picked off Rooney to set up Elmhurst's first score of the came. Freshman quarterback Peter Rantis came on for a banged-up Joe Furco and promptly tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Scottie Williams. The Bluejays' extra-point attempt was blocked and Elmhurst trailed by seven. 

On the ensuing kickoff, Ryan Johnson stripped Lanter of the football and Rich Dastice recovered the loose ball at the Titans' 31-yard line. Rantis capped a short scoring drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Bock. Elmhurst's extra point attempt was blocked and the Bluejays' trailed 13-12. 

IWU got rolling on offense, driving 72 yards in just six plays with Rooney scoring on a nine-yard touchdown run to put the Titans up 20-12. 

The Titans added a 34-yard field goal from Tim Hollowed early in the fourth quarter to grab a 23-12 lead. Furco re-entered the game in the fourth quarter and led the Bluejays 65 yards in five plays to pull to within three points. Furco capped the drive with a 35-yard touchdown strike to Joe St. Peter. Furco hit Sean Seroka for the two-point conversion to make the score 23-20 in favor of the Titans.

Illinois Wesleyan took the ensuing kickoff and drove 73 yards in eight plays, capturing a 30-20 lead after Rooney tossed a 13-yard scoring pass to Joey Driver.

Elmhurst continued to battle back, as Furco led a nine-play, 63-yard scoring drive on the Bluejays' ensuing possession. Furco found Rodney Payton open for a 15-yard touchdown pass to pull the Bluejays to within four points. The Bluejays misfired on their third extra-point attempt of the night, making the score 30-26 in favor of Illinois Wesleyan with just under four minutes to play.

The Titans recovered the onside kick attempt and converted a pair of first downs to run out the game's final 3:47. 

Illinois Wesleyan totaled 407 yards of total offense while Elmhurst was limited to just 266. The Titans rushed for 238 yards and passed for 169. The Bluejays finished with 251 yards through the air but were held to only 15 net rushing yards on the night.

Rooney led the Titans' offense by rushing 24 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns while also completing 15-of-22 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. Rooney was intercepted four times by the Bluejays. Lanter carried 14 times for 83 yards and a score while Eli Williams caught seven passes for 65 yards.

After rushing for over 150 yards in each of the past four games, Scottie Williams was held in check by the Titans. The Bluejays' sophomore running back was limited to just 39 yards on 14 carries. Furco and Rantis combined to finish 22-of-39 for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Bobby Vavlas caught seven passes for 68 yards to lead all receivers. 

Jon Janus led Elmhurst's defense with 14 tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception. Randy Wright added 12 stops for the Bluejays. Dane Paul, Jamall Lane, and Streit all added interceptions for the Bluejays, who forced six turnovers on the night.

Michael Whittington and Erich Bushong totaled eight tackles apiece to lead the Titans' defense. IWU totaled five sacks in the victory. 

The Bluejays will try to end their two-game skid next Saturday (October 23) by traveling to Millikin University.