COLUMBIA, Ky. – No. 11-seed Indiana Wesleyan football fell to No. 7-seed Lindsey Wilson 57-31 on Saturday in the second round of the 2025 NAIA Football Championship Series. The game was a tale of two halves, as the Wildcats dominated early and built a 24-0 lead just before halftime. The Blue Raiders flipped the momentum, scoring 49 points and forcing six IWU turnovers in the second half to bring the Wildcats' season to an end.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Columbia, Mich. | Parnell Family Stadium
- Records: IWU: 9-3 | LWU: 10-1
- NAIA FCS Seeding: IWU - #11 | LWC – #7
FIRST QUARTER
- The IWU defense set the tone early and forced a punt on the opening drive of the game.
- The Wildcat offense marched down the field on an 88-yard drive and scored first on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Arjun Lothe to Isaac Smith.
- Another three-and-out for Lindsey Wilson on the following drive gave the ball back to IWU.
- Indiana Wesleyan executed another long offensive drive, going 91 yards and reaching the endzone on the second touchdown of the quarter from Lothe to Smith.
- The Wildcats led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
- After an explosive 38-yard run from Whitwell, IWU was forced to punt after a holding penalty and the first sack of the season against the Wildcats.
- The defense came up huge again with a 4th down stop to halt Lindsey Wilson at the IWU 35-yard line.
- Whitwell surpassed 100 yards in the first half as he punched it in from 3 yards out to make it 21-0 Indiana Wesleyan.
- The first half domination continued as the special team's unit forced a fumble on the following kickoff, and the Wildcats took over deep in LWC territory.
- The Lindsey Wilson defense held strong, but Josh Clifton connected on a 27-yard field goal to extend their lead to 24-0.
- The Blue Raiders got on the board just before halftime on a touchdown pass to narrow the margin to 24-8 after a successful two-point conversion.
THIRD QUARTER
- IWU's offense opened the second half with an interception on a promising drive, and LWU responded with a 60-yard drive and another two-point conversion to make it a one-score game, 24-16.
- The Wildcat offense continued to struggle early in the quarter with their first three-and-out of the game.
- Davontaye Saunders ran for his second touchdown of the game, but a failed two-point conversion made it 24-22 Wildcats with the Blue Raiders holding all the momentum midway through the quarter.
- Another interception for Lothe lead to another touchdown for Lindsey Wilson and they took the lead of the first time of the game, 29-24.
- Drew Dutton fumbled on the following kickoff for IWU's third turnover of the quarter.
- LWU's Tate Rice threw his third touchdown of the game to extend their lead to 36-24.
- IWU's offense found some life with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Drew Dutton to narrow the margin to 36-31 with 1:30 left in the 3rd quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
- Lindsey Wilson kept it rolling offensively into the final quarter with another touchdown pass for Tate Rice to make it 43-31.
- Lothe was picked off again for the third time in the game.
- The Blue Raiders begin their drive at midfield and found the endzone in 6 plays to extend their lead to 50-31.
- After another interception for Lothe, LWU scored their fourth rushing touchdown to seal the victory, 57-31.
- Lothe continued to try and rally the Wildcats but threw his fifth interception to end the game.
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUTS
- Josh Clifton: 4-for-4 PAT's, 27-yard FG, 6 kickoffs for 350 yards.
TEAM COMPARISON
- Total Offense: IWU 426 yards (234 pass, 192 rush); LWU 531 yards (382 pass, 149 rush).
- First Downs: IWU 27; LWU 26.
- Sacks: IWU defense recorded 0 sacks on LWU; LWU defense 1 sack (3 yds).
- Penalties: IWU 5 for 41 yards; LWU 7 for 92 yards.
- Time of Possession: IWU 30:34; LWU 29:26.
LOOKING AHEAD
- The Wildcats conclude their 2025 season with a 9-3 overall record with their fourth-consecutive appearance in the NAIA FCS Second Round.
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