CHICAGO, Ill. - In a battle of nationally-ranked teams, No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan went on the road and knocked off No. 15 Saint Xavier 16-15 after the defense stepped up in the waning minutes.  

 

OVERALL

• The No. 5 Wildcats are now 3-0 on the season.

FIRST QUARTER

• After Xander Stokes was intercepted, the defense stepped up. Clayton Mosher made a tackle on second-and-nine to set up third-and-14. The Wildcats forced a punt and got things going offensively.
• Stokes hit Caden Currie on two passes totaling 31 yards. Dederrian Williams rushed three straight times, the last of which went for a first down.
• Williams scampered to the 33-yard line on a 12-yard rush on third-and-long. After Isaiah Gibbs helped IWU get to the four-yard line, Williams punched it in two plays later and the extra point made it 7-0.
• Tied at 7-7 late in the quarter, Williams had another long rumble – this time for 23 yards – to set up first-and-10 on the 38-yard line. A six-yard gain ended the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

• Faced with a fourth-and-nine on the 27-yard line, Stokes scanned the field and hit Tristen Hayes for a 20-yard gain. Looking at third-and-goal from the five, Stokes found Levi Tidwell for the score. Josh Clifton's kick pushed the margin to 14-7 with 11:21 on the clock before halftime.
• With both defenses answering the call the rest of the frame, neither squad could put any more points on the board.
• At the break, Stokes had completed 12-of-19 for 98 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Currie had four catches for 44 yards while Williams already had 20 attempts for 103 yards and a score.
• Mosher had five tackles, including two for loss, in the opening half.

THIRD QUARTER

• IWU's first drive of the second half stalled on the 35-yard line and Stokes dropped back to punt. He promptly booted a 34-yard kick to the one-yard line.
• The defense held strong for no gain on first down before forcing quarterback Kyle Quinn into an intentional grounding call in the end-zone, resulting in a safety for a 16-7 lead with 7:14 to play.
• The Wildcats took over and Currie hauled in a 41-yard strike to the 10-yard line. Williams rushed for four yards and on third down, Isaiah Gibbs gained three more. On fourth-and-three, Williams rushed for two yards and IWU turned it over on downs.
• Both teams traded possessions without another score. IWU took over just before the end of the quarter on its own eight-yard line.

FOURTH QUARTER

• On the first play of the quarter, the Wildcats were whistled for intentional grounding, which resulted in a safety to make the score 16-9.
• Saint Xavier gained possession with 8:28 to play and promptly started a drive. It lasted until the home team was called for a holding penalty, thwarting the momentum. Another holding penalty on the next play made it second-and-28 on the IWU 45-yard line. The squad gained two yards before being forced to punt.
• A quick three-and-out by the Wildcats gave the ball back with great field position.
• Saint Xavier quickly capitalized and found the end-zone on a 16-yard pass with 2:55 to play. The team went for two and the lead but Stuart Ross's conversion attempt was picked off by Luke Bays.
• IWU got the kick-off on the 25-yard line and a three-and-out gave the ball back to the home school. A penalty negated an interception by the Wildcats. Then, on third-and-eight, Preston Sykes snagged an interception for the visitors at the 26-yard line with only 73 second remaining to secure the victory.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

• Stokes finished the game 22-of-34 in the air for 175 yards and a touchdown. He had a long of 41 and tossed one interception.
• Stokes' main target was Currie, who hauled in seven passes for 98 yards. Hayes hauled in four passes for 46 yards, while Tidwell snagged a touchdown pass from Stokes.
• Williams rushed 32 times for 121 yards and a score. This marks his second 120 yard game of the season.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

• Drake Deshetsky led the way with nine total stops, including four of the solo variety and a half tackle for loss.
• Mosher led the squad with five solo tackles. He and Bays had eight overall. Mosher registered four tackles for loss, totaling 11 yards.  
• Mosher and Antonio White had a pass break-up each while Sykes recorded an interception.

SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUTS

• Neil Campbell had two kick-off returns for 48 yards. Foley had four punts for 31.3 yards per punt, while Stokes ended up with two punts for an average of 32.5 yards per kick.
• Campbell returned six punts for 57 yards, while Smith had two punt returns for 24 yards.

STATS COMPARISON

• IWU held the ball for 33:42 compared to 26:18 by the home team.
• The Wildcats had 22 first downs – nine more than the opposition. IWU rushed the ball for 46 times. The squad completed seven more passes for 175 yards total compared to 101 by Saint Xavier.
• Overall, IWU outgained the home team 288-159 while running 25 more plays (80-55).
• Both teams were penalized a lot – 14 for IWU and 11 for Saint Xavier.  

WHAT THE WIN MEANS

• The win means IWU recorded its first win over a ranked opponent this season. The squad is now 3-0 on the year and will face a Roosevelt team coming off a 42-7 win earlier Saturday.

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS

• The Wildcats are now 8-3 all-time against nationally-ranked teams, including a 5-1 ledger since Oct. 1, 2022.

LOOKING FORWARD

• The Wildcats return to action Saturday, Sept. 23 at Wildcat Stadium when they host Roosevelt (2-1) at 12:00 p.m. It marks the first time the teams have met in school history. 
• Links for tickets, video and stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.

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