MARION, Ind. – No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan bounced back from its season-opening loss with a commanding 31–3 victory over Saint Xavier on Saturday night at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats used a stifling defense that tallied five sacks and two interceptions, while the offense clicked for 432 total yards to secure the home win.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Marion, Ind. | Wildcat Football Stadium
- Records: IWU: 1-1 | SXU: 0-1
- NAIA Top-25 Ranking: IWU - #6 | SXU – Unranked
FIRST QUARTER
- Saint Xavier drilled a 42-yarder to give the Cougars an early 3-0 lead.
- IWU QB Arjun Lothe was intercepted on the following drive in the red zone.
- On the next SXU possession, Anthony Cheeseboro sacked Dominic D'Ambro for a 13-yard loss.
- Both defenses controlled the quarter as the score remained 3-0 in favor of the Cougars.
SECOND QUARTER
- Josh Clifton tied the game at 3-3 to cap off a 10-play, 42 yard drive.
- Garrett Hathaway and Antonio White sacked D'Ambro on the following drive for a five yard loss to force a 3-and-out.
- Lothe connected with Simon Vinson on a 7-yard touchdown pass to give IWU the lead. A missed PAT made the score 9-3 lead with 4:22 left in the half.
- Ayden Ewing punched in a 1-yard score with 27 seconds left in the half, scoring his first touchdown of the season; he also converted the two-point try to make it 17-3.
THIRD QUARTER
- Lothe found Grant Irwin the Wildcats' first drive of the second half for a 21-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 24–3.
- On the following drive, Deven Arevalo picked off D'Ambro at the IWU 10-yard line and returned it 24 yards.
- Ewing scored his second rushing TD from 1 yard out, pushing the lead to 31–3.
FOURTH QUARTER
- SXU's Taj McClellan picked off Lothe on a 50-50 jump ball at the goal line.
- IWU's defense sacked Opat three times on one drive (Arlondo Sheets, Levi Oxley, and Quintin Walker all credited with sacks).
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
- Arjun Lothe: 27-for-50, 355 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT.
- Cameron Morrison: 16 carries, 51 yards,
- Ayden Ewing: 11 carries, 34 yards, 2 TD.
- Isaac Smith: 10 receptions, 111 yards.
- Simon Vinson: 6 receptions, 63 yards, 1 TD.
- Grant Irwin: 2 receptions, 30 yards, 1 TD.
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
- Deven Arevalo: 2 INT, 52 return yards.
- Vincie Solano: 9 tackles.
- Anthony Cheeseboro: 3 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL.
- Arlondo Sheets: 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble.
- Team: 5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 2 INT, 2 forced fumbles.
SPECIAL TEAMS STANDOUTS
- Josh Clifton: 1-for-1 FG (33 yards), 1-for-2 PAT, 6 kickoffs for 328 yards (1 touchback).
- Leo Morrow: 3 punt returns for 23 yards.
TEAM COMPARISON
- Total Offense: IWU 432 yards (355 pass, 77 rush); SXU 189 yards (106 pass, 83 rush).
- First Downs: IWU 29, SXU 15.
- Turnovers: IWU 4 (2 INT, 2 fumbles), SXU 3 (2 INT, 1 fumble).
- Sacks: IWU 5 for -38 yards; SXU 0.
- Penalties: IWU 6 for 70 yards; SXU 5 for 32 yards
- Time of Possession: IWU 29:57, SXU 30:03.
LOOKING FORWARD
- The Wildcats hit the road next Saturday to play Judson University on Saturday, September 13 at 6:00PM central / 7:00PM eastern.
- Links for video and stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.
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