VALPARAISO, Ind. – No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan football suffered a 20-17 loss at Valparaiso University on Saturday evening. The Wildcats record their first loss of the season and move to 2-1 overall.
 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Location: Valparaiso, Ind. | Brown Field
• Records: IWU - 2-1 | VALPO - 1-2
• NAIA Top-25 Ranking: IWU - #6 | VALPO (FBS) - Unranked

FIRST QUARTER

• Both teams went 3-and-out on their opening drives of the game.
• The Wildcats forced a second defensive stop after a Robert Hunter sack.
• Valpo got in the endzone first after two big runs of 25 and 33 yards.
• The Beacons held a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

• Valpo kept their momentum into the 2nd quarter and scored again on a 6-yard touchdown pass.
• Roosevelt Cage scored the first IWU touchdown and capped off a 6-play 60-yard drive to make it 7-14.
• The IWU defense held strong for a red-zone stop forced a Valpo field-goal to make the deficit 7-17.
• Josh Clifton was just wide on a 39-yard field goal attempt and the Wildcats trailed 7-17 at halftime.
• The Beacons held a 19:53 to 10:07 advantage in time of possession in the first half.

THIRD QUARTER

• IWU's first drive of the second half came to a sudden end after Kyle Antoine's 30-yard pass down the field was picked off.
• The Wildcats narrowed the margin to 14-17 after Ryan Whitwell caught a pass from Antoine out of the backfield and ran 17 yards to the endzone.

FOURTH QUARTER

• On their first drive of the 4^th quarter, IWU converted a crucial 3^rd and 10 to keep their drive alive, as Antoine avoided a sack and found Myles Cox for a 32-yard gain. Clifton tied it up at 17-17 with 9:16 left in the game.
• The Valpo quarterback broke free for a 38-yard run with Vince Solano saving a touchdown with a shoe-string-tackle. The red-zone trip was stalled and the Beacon's sent a field goal through the uprights to make it 17-20.
• Antoine threw his second interception of the night on the next drive, giving Valpo great field position on the IWU36.
• A three-and-out was capped off by a sack from Caleb Williams.
• The Wildcats were forced to punt after being pinned back deep in their own territory.
• The Beacons were able to gain a first down and run out the clock to win the game, 20-17.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

• Kyle Antoine completed 19-of-36 for 218 yards and a touchdown. He also had two interceptions.
• Isaac Smith hauled in six passes for 86 yards while Caden Currie had five catches for 27 yards.
• Roosevelt Cage led the way with 9 attempts for 70 yards with a touchdown on the ground. Ryan Whitwell had 17 carries for 53 yards in the loss. Whitewell also had a touchdown reception

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

• Clayton Mosher led the way with 14 total tackles, while Luke Bays and Vince Solano each had 9.
• Robert Hunter, Caleb Williams, and Bays all recorded a sack.
• Mosher and Bays each tallied two tackles for loss.
• Anthony Cheesebourough and Mosher finished with a pass breakup.

SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUTS

• Clifton went 1-for-2 on field goal attempts – coming from 34 yards out. 
• Jaden Downs had six punts for a 35.5-yard average, including a long of 48 yards. 
• Myles Cox returned one kickoff and two punts for a total of 29 yards.

STATS COMPARISON

• IWU had a 19-18 edge in first downs. Valpo had 268 yards on the ground while holding the Wildcats to 110 yards.
• Indiana Wesleyan maintained the 218-95 edge through the air.
• The Wildcats had two interceptions while being unable to record any takeaways from Valpo
• IWU was 8-for-16 on third-down attempts while the host school was 1-for-14. 
• The Beacons controlled the time of possession 37:24 - 22:36.

LOOKING FORWARD

• Indiana Wesleyan will remain on the road against Olivet Nazarene on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 1:00PM Eastern.
• Links for tickets, video, and stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.

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