MARION, Ind. – Indiana Wesleyan University football outlasted St. Francis (Ill.) 35-34 in a shootout on Homecoming. The teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense and the game ended on a missed field goal by the Fighting Saints.

WHAT A FINISH!

Indiana Wesleyan led 35-34 and needed one first down to run out the clock. But a fumble at the 50-yard line with 2:06 remaining gave St. Francis the ball and great field position down just one. USF moved the ball to the Indiana Wesleyan 21 but a sack by Payton Marksbury left St. Francis at the 25 and :03 on the clock. USF attempted a 42-yard field goal on the final play of the game but the ball sailed wide left to set off a mass Wildcat celebration.

NEARLY HIT THE CENTURY MARK

Indiana Wesleyan and St. Francis combined for 973 yards of total offense, 517 for St. Francis and 456 for Indiana Wesleyan. Zack Blair finished 14-of-24 for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns with Brayden Smith catching 7 passes for 121 yards. On the ground, Devodney Alford rushed 18 times for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns.

ON THE MARK

Peyton Marksbury led all players with 13 tackles and 2 sacks, including the big sack to force the Fighting Saints to try a 42-yard field goal on the last play of the game. Justin Brown produced 11 tackles while Brevin Beard and Adam Schantz each contributed 8 tackles.

BACK-AND-FORTH

Neither team led by more than seven points and there were six lead changes. IWU only had leads of one point, which was the result of a missed extra point attempt by St. Francis early in the second quarter.

COACH LANGS SAYS…

“With this being Homecoming it added a lot to the game. And that is a really good NAIA football team that was a playoff team a few years ago. That is a signature win for our football program and our university. IWU added football to expand mission and for competitive excellence. To win a game like that with only two classes in says a lot about those kids and this coaching staff that puts the effort in.”

NEXT UP FOR THE WILDCATS

Indiana Wesleyan becomes road warriors for the next month with four road games in four weeks. The road trip begins next Saturday at Lawrence Tech (Mich.) in Southfield, Michigan. IWU and LTU are both first year football programs that join the MSFA full-time in 2019. Kick-off is set for 12 p.m. noon.