MARION, Ind. – A huge second half guided nationally-ranked No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan football past Roosevelt in the first meeting between the programs by a score of 35-14. Levi Tidwell set a new single-game program record with 190 yards on the day.

 

OVERALL

• The win propels the Wildcats to a 4-0 ledger on the season.  

FIRST QUARTER

• After forcing a punt early in the first quarter, Xander Stokes hit Levi Tidwell for an 18-yard gain. On the ensuing play, he was intercepted at the one-yard line. Roosevelt marched down the field and scored on a four-yard run. The extra point made it 7-0 in favor of the Lakers with 4:57 to play in the frame.
• Stokes responded with an 11-yard pass to Tidwell before Dederrian Williams rushed for a 50-yard gain to the 13-yard line. On fourth and goal from the two, Williams was stopped at the one.

SECOND QUARTER

• A 73-yard run on second-and five with 13:36 to play in the half pushed the margin to 14-0.
• The quick-strike offense responded. Stokes found Tidwell for a 33-yard gain to the 30-yard line. After hitting Carter Huffman for five yards, Williams rushed for six yards. On second-and-15, Caden Currie hauled in a 24-yard pass for the score. Josh Clifton's extra point made it 14-7 with 10:59 to play.
• On first-and-10 from the 47-yard line, Clayton Mosher came up big for the defense. He forced a fumble and Ammen Hicks recovered it at the 44-yard line. Two plays later, Tidwell hauled in his fifth catch of the afternoon for a 19-yard gain. However, on first-and-goal Stokes was picked off.
• Roosevelt managed to get to the 18-yard line after an 11-play drive. However, Andrew Bucaro missed a 35-yard field goal to the left, leaving the score at 14-7 in favor of the visitors at halftime.

THIRD QUARTER

• On the first drive of the quarter, Drake Deshetsky snagged an interception at the 22-yard line. Two plays later, Currie hauled in a nine-yard pass to get to the 13-yard line. Tristen Hayes recorded an eight-yard reception to the five-yard line. On second-and-goal, Tidwell caught a two-yard pass for the score. Clifton's extra point tied the game at 14-14 with 11:41 to go in the quarter.
• Neil Campbell intercepted a pass at the 38-yard line. After Stokes rushed for six yards on second down, the team was stopped for no gain on third down. On the 32-yard line, Stokes found Williams for a 20-yard gain to the 12-yard line. After Williams rushed for four yards, he hauled in an eight-yard touchdown strike at the 2:57 mark. Clifton made it 21-14.  
• Roosevelt drove to the red zone on the next possession. On third-and-seven from the 16-yard line, Jamis Carson registered another interception – this time coming on the two-yard line.
• The Wildcats secured a first down and pushed the ball to the 26-yard line to end the quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

• A huge pass to Tidwell to start the frame for 20 yards put the ball on the 46-yard line. Moments later, Tidwell hauled in a 48-yard pass to get to the three-yard line. Three plays later, Stokes kept the ball and scampered to paydirt. The extra point made it 28-14 with 13:24 to play in the game.
• Two plays after taking possession of the ball on the 40-yard line, IWU flipped the field and got into opposing territory after Williams rushed for 15 yards on second-and-four. However, the Wildcats were unable to score on the drive.
• The Lakers took possession and faced a fourth-and-one on the 44-yard line. Luke Bays stuffed the run for no gain, giving the ball back to IWU.
• Stokes quickly hit Tristen Hayes for 21 yards. Two plays later, the duo connected again – this time for 20 yards. Williams finished off the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 35-14 with 6:05 to play.
• Mosher quickly intercepted a pass but IWU could not capitalize on the turnover. A punt by the Wildcats gave the ball back to the visitors with 2:18 to play en route to the 21-point victory.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

• Xander Stokes completed 26-of-38 passes for 343 yards and three touchdowns.
• Tidwell led everyone with a monster 10-catch, 190-yard, one touchdown day. Hayes hauled in five catches for 59 yards while Currie and Williams each snagged a touchdown reception.
• Williams scampered 22 times for 132 yards and found the endzone once via the ground attack. Stokes had six attempts and scored once.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

• Bays and Jamis Carson led the defense with 12 stops apiece. Campbell had a team-best five solo tackles.
• Four different Wildcats – Hicks, Deshetsky, Mosher and Campbell each had an interception.

SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUTS

• Nolan Foley averaged 31.3 yards per punt while Stokes had one punt for 28 yards. Campbell returned three punts for 59 yards.

STATS COMPARISON

• The WIldcats rushed 28 times for 127 yards while the visitors rushed 31 times for 107 yards. IWU held a 343-314 edge through the air. IWU held a 7.12-6.38 yards per play advantage on the day.
• RU was penalized one more time for six more yards. The visitors held a 36:01-23:59 advantage in time of possession.

WHAT THE WIN MEANS

• The win keeps IWU among the ranks for the undefeated.
• The squad will now get to play back-to-back home games for the first – and only - time this season.

RODE PERSPECTIVE

• "Great team win today," said Andrew Rode, Head Football Coach. "The offense got moving, and the defense was stellar as always. Really proud of how our guys responded to being challenged. They are tough and resilient, because they are led by an outstanding senior group. Levi had a breakout game, and Xander led the offense well! The defense played a great second half and made some great adjustments to close out the game!"

LOOKING FORWARD

• The Wildcats host Siena Heights on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 12 p.m.
• Links for tickets, video and stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.

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