SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The Andrew Rode era could not have started much better as he led No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan football to a 56-7 victory at Lawrence Tech in the season opener Saturday evening.


 

RECORDS

• The No. 5 Wildcats are 1-0 on the season while Lawrence Tech falls to 0-1.

FIRST QUARTER

• The Blue Devils got off to a fast start, scoring on a 19-yard touchdown pass on their first possession of the game. However, that proved to be all the squad could muster the rest of the way.
• A penalty started the Wildcats off behind the chains on their first drive and it stalled a three-and-out.
• IWU held strong on the next Lawrence Tech possession, forcing a 41-yard punt.
• Starting on their own five-yard line, Xander Stokes hit Levi Tidwell for an 11-yard gain on the first play of the drive. He hit Isaac Smith on a 27-yard strike on the next play to put the Wildcats at their own 43-yard line. Moments later, Stokes rushed for an 11-yard gain.
• The quarter ended after Isaiah Gibbs scampered for 20 yards, pushing the offense to the 16-yard line.

SECOND QUARTER

• After a quick break in the action, Stokes connected on a 16-yard touchdown to Levi Tidwell. A Josh Clifton kick made it 7-7.
• On third-and-seven, Luke Bays forced a fumble and Neil Campbell converted a scoop-and-score for the 10-yard touchdown return.
• A quick stop defensively allowed IWU to start its next possession at its own 49-yard line. Due to a couple of penalties, the squad was unable to take advantage of the solid field position.
• The Wildcats' defense took the field and the home team had only 47 yards to go for paydirt. However, IWU forced a punt on fourth-and-10 from the 38-yard line.  
• A third-and-10 pass to Dederrian Williams for 14 yards jump-started the high-octane offense. Tidwell hauled in an 18-yard strike. On second-and-six, Williams took a short pass from Stokes and found the end-zone for a 31-yard score.
• Taking possession at their own 30-yard line and less than a minute to play, the Wildcats showcased how quickly they could score. Isaac Smith caught a 29-yard pass and seconds later, he tallied a 28-yard gain down to the two-yard line with nine seconds to go. Stokes hit Williams for a two-yard score and 28-7 lead at the break.

THIRD QUARTER

• On the second play of the quarter, Williams took the handoff and rushed 68 yards for the touchdown for a 35-7 advantage. That ties the 4th-longest rushing touchdown in program history.
• After forcing two punts, IWU's offense got moving again. Williams rushed for a 19-yard gain on second-and-10. Tristen Hayes hauled in a 13-yard strike. The Wildcats converted a third-and-eight and a holding penalty put the team right outside the red zone. Williams rushed to his left for a one-yard score at the 2:15 mark.
• On first-and-15, the defense scored its second touchdown of the night when Wilson Wirebaugh stepped in front of a pass and returned it 26 yards for a 49-7 lead after Clifton's kick. 

FOURTH QUARTER

• Clayton Mosher and Jamis Carson were both in on a tackle on fourth-and five, giving the No. 5 team in the country the ball back eight second into the period.
• After moving the ball to the 15-yard-line behind the rushing attack, Tristen Hayes caught a pass from Stokes for a 10-yard touchdown for the final score of the night.  

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

• Xander Stokes was brilliant all night. He converted 16-of-21 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns.
• Dederrian Williams was outstanding – both as a running back and in the passing game. He rushed for a game-best 126 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns.
• Isaac Smith led the offense with 84 yards on three catches. Levi Tidwell caught a team-high five passes for 71 yards. Williams had a pair of touchdown receptions.
• The offensive line was outstanding, giving up just one sack.
• Isaiah Gibbs accounted for 5.3 yards a carry.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

• Wildcat Nation knows the names at the top of the list as Clayton Mosher led the team with 10 tackles, including three solo stops. Isaac Abeo was in on nine stops, while Luke Bays had eight tackles.
• Isaac Abeo had three tackles for loss, totaling 22 yards – two of which were sacks. Anthony Tirtilli-Roberts also had a sack.  
• Neil Campbell led the way with six solo stops in the victory and had a pass break-up and fumble return for a touchdown.
• Drake Deshetsky had two pass break-ups while Wilson Wirebaugh had an interception return for a score. Deven Arevalo was in a pass break-up as well.

SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUTS

• Josh Clifton converted all eight extra points in his first game with the Wildcats. He also averaged 47.6 yards per kickoff.
• Nolan Foley had two punts in the game, and he averaged 41.0 yards per attempt.
• Neil Campbell had two kick returns for a 21-yard average. He also returned a pair of punts.

STATS COMPARISON

• The Wildcats had 24 first downs compared to 15 by Lawrence Tech. The team averaged 5.6 yards per rush (43-242) against 3.7 for the home team (38-139).
• IWU threw for 248 yards while limiting the opposition to 171 yards in the air.
• The Wildcats accounted for 490 yards of offense while LTU had 310 yards in the game. IWU averaged 7.54 yards per play.
• IWU controlled the clock for 41:06 and converted 6-of-10 on third-down. The Wildcats limited the home squad to just 2-of-13 on third down and 1-of-4 on fourth down.

WHAT THE WIN MEANS

• The Andrew Rode era got off to a great start with the 56-7 win. It marked the most points the Wildcats scored on the road since a 66-0 victory on Oct. 26, 2019 at Trinity International.
• It means the Wildcats will be undefeated when they square off against Valparaiso in two weeks. Valpo gave IWU one of its only two losses a season ago (20-17).

RODE PERSPECTIVE

• Tonight was a special win for us," said Andrew Rode, Head Football Coach. "It was a representation of the work and training these guys have put in over the last 9 months! They are hungry to be great, and they have made the commitment to grow together and fight for each other during games. It was a great night of complimentary football!"

LOOKING FORWARD

• No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan hosts Valparaiso Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m., at Wildcat Football Stadium.
• Individuals can purchase tickets at www.IWUWildcats.com/tickets.

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