INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan football took the field in Indianapolis on Saturday against No. 10 Marian and dominated from the opening kickoff. The Wildcats put up a school-record 742 yards of total offense in a 77-21 victory over the Knights. IWU moves to 6-1 overall this season and 4-2 in the all-time series against MU.
 

 

THE ESSENTIALS

 

• Location: Indianapolis, Ind. | Ascension St. Vincent Field
• Records: IWU: 6-1 | MU: 4-1
• NAIA Top-25 Ranking: IWU - #3 | MU - #10

FIRST QUARTER

 

• IWU opened the game with a 47-yard run on the first play. Whitwell punched it in four plays later to take the early lead 7-0.
• Marian responded quickly with their own three-minute drive to even the game at 7-7
• The offense continued to roll for the Wildcats as Antoine found Whitwell for a 10-yard reception for his second score of the day. After a missed extra-point, IWU led 13-7.
• Caden Currie capped off the 1^st quarter with a 43-yard reception to put the Wildcats up 20-7.

 

SECOND QUARTER

 

• Vance Sheppert broke up a pass play to stall Marian on 4^th down on the first drive of the quarter.
• Roosevelt Cage punched the ball in from two yards out. A successful two-point conversion gave IWU the 28-7 lead.
• The defense continued to dominate as Luke Bays picked off Marian on the following drive.
• Three plays later, Whitwell scored his third touchdown of the half as Indiana Wesleyan extended their lead to 35-7.
• Another defense stop for IWU was sealed by a sack from Caleb Williams.
• The offense continued to have their way with a 90-yard drive in 1:52 of play to go up 42-7 after a Roosevelt Cage score.
• The first half ended in thrilling fashion as IWU only needed eight seconds to go 57 yards in two plays. Myles Cox caught a 37-yard throw from Kyle Antoine as time expired to go up 49-7 at halftime.

 

THIRD QUARTER

 

• Indiana Wesleyan went up 56-7 on their opening second half drive as Levi Tidwell got in on the fun with a 25-yard touchdown.
• Arjun Lothe came into the game at quarterback and he led IWU down the field on a 51-yard drive in 2:22. Isaiah Gibbs twice for 11 yards and a touchdown to make the score 63-7.
• After a couple pass interference penalties, Marian ended IWU's run of 56 unanswered points with QB sneak touchdown.
• Roosevelt Cage exploded for a 58-yard run on the following drive to end the third quarter.

 

FOURTH QUARTER

 

• Blake Brumbaugh made the most of his first reception of the season with a 19-yard touchdown to put IWU up 70-14.
• Brock Thomason kept the Knights out of the endzone with an interception, his first of the season.
• Brock Short found an opening and broke off a 73-yard touchdown extending the lead to 77-14.
• Marian scored a touchdown on the final drive of the game to make the final score 77-21.

 

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

 

• Kyle Antoine went 20-for-25 for 302 yards and four touchdowns. Arjun Lothe hit 10-of-11 for 85 yards and a touchdown.
• Isaac Smith was on the receiving end of six passes for 94 yards. Twelve different receivers caught a pass during the game, while five earned touchdowns.
• The ground game was effective as Ryan Whitwell led the way with 153 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Roosevelt Cage totaled 117 yards and two scores.

 

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

 

• Clayton Mosher and Daniel Schager led the defense with five tackles. Mosher tallied 2.5 tackles for loss.
• Brad Allen and Caleb Williams got to the backfield and both registered a sack.
• Luke Bays and Brock Thomason each grabbed interceptions, giving the Wildcats 12 this season.
   

 

SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUTS

 

• Josh Clifton went 9-10 on PAT's and did not attempt a field goal.
• Clifton also averaged 59.7 yards on 11 kickoff attempts.
• Jaden Downs was only asked to punt once in the game.
• Myles Cox totaled 32 yards on two kickoff returns and 15 yards on three punt returns.

 

STATS COMPARISON

 

• IWU totaled 742 yards of total offense, setting a new program record.
• The Wildcats totaled 355 yards on the ground and 387 through the air.
• Indiana Wesleyan averaged 11.8 yards per run and  12.9 yards per catch.
• IWU averaged 11.2 yards per play compared to 4.5 yards per play for MU.
• The Wildcats only needed possession for 22:22, more than 15 minutes less than the Knights with 37:38.
• Indiana Wesleyan scored touchdowns on 11 of their 12 offensive possessions.

 

WHAT THE WIN MEANS

 

• IWU convinces the NAIA that they are one of the top team in the country.
• The last three games for the Wildcats have been against Top 25 opponents, resulting in three wins with a point-differential of 154-31.
   

 

RODE PERSPECTIVE

 

• "It was fun to watch our guys live and play up to their potential today," said Andrew Rode, Head Football Coach. "The defense continues to play well consistently and the offense had a great game."

 

LOOKING FORWARD

 

• The Wildcats return home next week for Homecoming Weekend!
• IWU will take on their county rival Taylor University on Oct. 19th at 4:00PM.
• Links for tickets, video, and stats are available on IWUWildcats.com.

 

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS

 

• Follow Athletics (@IWUWildcats): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Follow Football (@IndWesleyan_FB): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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