Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Three of the game's four scores came in the first eight minutes Saturday as Illinois Wesleyan spoiled Augustana's Homecoming with a 21-7 win at Lindberg Stadium. The Vikings fell to 2-4 on the season and 1-2 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play, while the Titans, ranked 20th by D3football.com, improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the league.
 
After each team went three-and-out on its first possession, IWU took over at the Augustana 43. Four plays later, quarterback Jack Warner hit Andrew Javorka with a short pass on the left side and the Titan receiver weaved his way through the Viking defense for a 15-yard touchdown. Warner also connected with running back Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore for a 28-yard completion on the drive. Michael Kelly's point after gave the visitors a 7-0 with 10:55 left in the opening quarter.
 
On the next possession, after driving from its own 21 to the IWU 49, Augustana decided to throw a wrinkle at the Titans. On first-and-10, senior quarterback Chris Salazar (Providence Catholic HS, Plainfield, Ill.) came off the bench and hit classmate Sam Frasco (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) with a swing pass to the left side and the Vikings' starting signal-caller went for a 14-yard gain. On the next play, the Vikings faked a jet sweep to Frasco and Salazar found senior Sean Fitzgerald (Providence Catholic HS, Manhattan, Ill.) behind the IWU secondary for a 35-yard touchdown pass. Jacob Stytz's extra point tied things up at 7-7.
 
The deadlock lasted for just 13 seconds, however, as Shoemaker-Gilmore took the ensuing kickoff and went 93 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Kelley's conversion gave the Titans a 14-7 lead with 7:00 left in the first.
 
Although both defenses began to take control from that point, Augustana did have a pair of second-quarter red zone trips that came up empty. Early in the period, the Vikings drove to the IWU nine-yard line, but Stytz's 26-yard field goal attempt went wide left. Then, with 7:01 left in the half the Vikings took over on the Titan 39 following an IWU punt. The march eventually reached the three-yard line before a pair of rushes lost a yard each and Frasco was sacked by Will James. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 14 with 16 seconds before halftime, Frasco found Fitzgerald in the back of the west end zone, but the Augustana receiver's catch was ruled out of bounds and the score remained 14-7 at intermission.
 
The hosts trailed despite outgaining the Titans 178 to 56 in total yards and having a 10-2 edge in first downs.
 
The defenses continued to control things in a scoreless third quarter. Frank Kalble's (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) interception of a Warner pass in the end zone ended the only real threat of the period. Junior corner Daniel Watson (Peoria HS, Peoria, Ill.) made a big hit on the receiver to free the ball for Kalble.
 
IWU got an insurance touchdown on the second possession of the fourth quarter. Shoemaker-Gilmore broke loose on the left side and went 55 yards for the score and a 21-7 lead with Kelley's PAT.
 
The Vikings threatened once more, driving from their own 16 to the Titan 17, but Frasco's fourth-down pass to sophomore Riley Donald (Morton HS, Morton, Ill.) was broken up by Darrow Traylor to end the drive. IWU put together an eight-play, 75-yard march to run out the clock.
 
The defenses carried the day, with neither team reaching 300 yards of total offense. Augustana gained 284 yards—104 on the ground and 180 through the air. Illinois Wesleyan rushed for 165 yards, with 115 of those coming on Shoemaker-Gilmore's fourth-quarter back-breaker and a 60-yard jaunt by Austin Harrell on the final drive. Warner threw for just 106 yards for a total offense mark of 271.
 
The Vikings will be back at Lindberg Stadium on Saturday, October 24, hosting Carthage in a 1:00 p.m. contest.