BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Orlando Hernandez passed for three touchdowns to lead the Elmhurst football team in a 44-28 loss to 18^th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University.
 
Illinois Wesleyan (5-1, 5-0 CCIW) jumped out to a 37-7 lead before Elmhurst (1-5, 0-5 CCIW) outscored the Titans 21-7 over the game's final 16 minutes.
 
Illinois Wesleyan wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, taking the opening kickoff and driving 74 yards with Morgan Alexander capping the scoring drive with a 31-yard touchdown run. Elmhurst answered back midway through the first quarter. Jim Phelps sacked IWU quarterback Brandon Bauer and knocked the ball loose. Sean Kelly recovered the fumble and went 20 yards for a touchdown to even the score at 7-7.
 
IWU took over on offense, scoring 23 points before the half to build a 30-7 lead at the break. Zach Walsh scored three touchdowns for the Titans, hauling in one, 30, and 16 yard touchdown passes from Bauer to seal scoring drives. The Titans extended their lead to 37-7 early in the third on a seven-yard touchdown run from Bryce Dooley.
 
Elmhurst's offense got on track late tin the third as Hernandez hit Ben Holloway for an 18-yard touchdown to cap an eight-play, 60-yard scoring drive. After a one-yard touchdown run from Alexander gave Illinois Wesleyan a 44-14 lead midway through the fourth, the Bluejays tacked on a pair of late touchdowns. Casey Dobczy caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Hernandez and Jacob Mammosser hauled in a five-yard scoring catch with 1:33 left to account for the game's final score.
 
Elmhurst won the turnover battle against the Titans as the Bluejays' defense came up with four turnovers on three fumbles and an interception. Elmhurst gave the ball back to the Titans three times, twice on interceptions and once on a lost fumble.
 
The Titans outgained Elmhurst 578-241 in the contest. Illinois Wesleyan rushed for 282 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per touch. The Titans added 296 yards through the air in the win. Elmhurst finished with 112 yards rushing and 129 yards passing.
 
Holloway led Elmhurst's ground attack with 12 carries for 53 yards while Hernandez added 44 yards on 12 carries. Hernandez finished 16-of-24 through the air with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Holloway caught six passes for 35 yards to lead all Elmhurst receivers in receptions.
 
Elmhurst could not slow down Morgan as the Titans' running back carried 28 times for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Bauer completed 19-of-29 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns while Walsh caught a team-leading six passes for 84 yards and three scores.
 
Sean Jay paced Elmhurst's defense with 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception and two fumble recoveries. Brandon Greer added nine stops while Phelps finished with eight, including a sack. Lavor Little added a sack for the Bluejays' defense.
 
Elmhurst hosts Millikin University next Saturday, October 20, as part of the College's annual homecoming weekend.