JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – It might have been the opening game of the 2014 season, but the Illinois College football team certainly looked to be in midseason form. An explosive offense and stingy defense will win a team a lot of games and the Blueboys used that combination on Saturday night to blow past Aurora University, 49-6, in the first night game in the history of England Stadium and the first night game on campus in 85 years.
Though a 49-6 scoreline indicates a one-sided contest, it actually fails to show how dominant Illinois College was on the night. IC outgained Aurora to the tune of 620-89. The Blueboys had 35 first downs to only eight for the Spartans. Six of the seven touchdown drives in the game for IC were more than 60 yards, yet the longest one took just 4:34 off the clock. The Blueboys ran 98 plays on offense to 46 for Aurora.
The tone was set in the first quarter. All three Aurora drives ended in three-and-outs, with Illinois College cashing in immediately on the first two changes of possession for a 14-0 lead after one. Michael Bates completed 8-of-11 passes on the first drive for 54 yards, then scrambled up the middle for the final six yards to put IC on top. Logan Uyetake supplied the first of seven PATs on the night to make it a 7-0 Illinois College lead.
Regaining possession quickly, IC went with its ground attack on the second drive. Dakota Lammy chewed up 30 yards on six straight plays, tiring an overmatched Aurora front seven. The 15-play drive ended with Bates finding Bryce Heaton from 11 yards out to put the Blueboys up by two touchdowns.
Early on the in the second quarter, another Bates-to-Heaton connection gave IC a 1st and goal from the 8. Three plays later, Adam Ausmus was able to corral a one-yard touchdown pass from Bates to go up, 21-0. Before the half ended, Lammy would pound into the end zone twice to give the Blueboys a 35-0 edge at the break.
Bates was back out to work the opening drive of the 3rd quarter and some history came along with it. A 32-yard pitch and catch with Heaton put Bates over 8,000 passing yards for his college career and also moved him past former Monmouth quarterback Rob Purlee for fifth place all-time in Midwest Conference career passing yards. Fittingly, the drive ended with another touchdown pass to Heaton, this one from 17 yards out for a 42-0 lead.
Another three-play drive from Aurora gave the ball back to Illinois College and gave backup quarterback Brady Huber a chance to shine. His first two passes went to Josh Gentilefor gains of 31 and 21 yards. Two plays later, he put the Blueboys in the red zone with a 12-yard completion to Gentile and finished it off with his first career touchdown run from 11 yards out, giving IC its largest lead of 49-0.
Aurora's lone scoring drive came late in the 3rd quarter and was helped along by two 15-yard penalties from Illinois College. The first came on a late hit after the kickoff. Later on, an interception by IC was nullified by a roughing the passer penalty. The Spartans were able to take advantage, scoring from a yard out on 4th and goal.
Bates ended the night 24-of-35 for 266 yards and three touchdowns, plus another 42 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Lammy was the leading rusher in the contest with 90 yards on 18 carries to go along with his two scores. Heaton (163 yards) and Gentile (110 yards) were the leading receivers in the game.
Defensively, Papa Sagna and J.J. Wang each had four tackles. Wang and Meeko Reddick each had 1.5 sacks, with Reddick and James Dambacher both forcing a fumble. Zack Hanlon had an interception, which he returned 24 yards.
The Blueboys make their first road trip of the season next week, traveling to Terre Haute, Ind. to face the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Kick-off on Sept. 13 is set for 6 p.m. Central Time.
IC Football Lights Up Aurora, 49-6
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140906_95ur.xml
2014
Aurora
6
Illinois College
49
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Illinois College (1-0) | 14 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 49 |
Sep 06, 2014