MOUNT PLEASANT – Senior wide receiver Lawrence Moore (Country Club Hills, Ill.) set one school record and tied another, but Iowa Wesleyan College lost to St. Ambrose University 49-10 in the Tigers’ season finale Saturday at Mapleleaf Stadium.
Moore set a new record for career receptions and also tied a school record for most receptions in a game. He also just missed out on the school record for receiving yards in a career, concluding one of the most prolific careers for a receiver in school history.
However, he was unable to get the Tigers to a win in his final game, as IWC could not follow up a competitive first half. St. Ambrose outscored Wesleyan 28-0 in the second half, and the Bees (5-5 overall) finished in a tie with the Tigers at 3-4 in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League. Iowa Wesleyan finished its season with a 3-8 overall record.
SAU took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, but IWC responded with a touchdown and would score again at the end of the first half to go to the break behind 21-10. The Tigers first got on the board after Kevin McConnell (So.-Kansas City, Mo.) scored on an eight-yard run to cap a 12-play, 67-yard drive and make it 14-7 midway through the quarter.
The Fighting Bees scored again on their next possession, but IWC responded again later in the quarter and was on the doorstep of another touchdown, driving to the SAU 5-yard line. A dropped pass in the end zone and a sack proceeded to stall the drive and the Tigers settled for a Kris Dolinsky (Fr.-Fisher, Ind.) 27-yard field goal at the end of the half.
St. Ambrose would control the second half, though, outgaining the Tigers 292-42 as the Wesleyan offense stalled. The Bees picked up six consecutive third down conversions, and the Tigers were unable to take advantage of interceptions by Kerry Hartley (Fr.-Lithonia, Ga.) and Mike Tupai (Jr.-San Francisco, Calif.).
Moore finished the game with 16 receptions for 57 yards. The 16 receptions tied the school single-game record set previously on five other occasions, most recently by James Summerall on Sept. 21, 2002, against the University of St. Francis (Ind.). Moore finished his career with 228 career receptions, breaking the record of 226 set by Bruce Carter (1990-91). He also ended his career with 2,183 receiving yards, just shy of the school mark of 2,196 held by Marcus Washington (1989-91).
McConnell finished 29 of 45 passing for 193 yards and also led the team in rushing with 21 yards. Greg Fields (Sr.-St. Louis, Mo.) had six receptions for 48 yards and finished his career with 136 receptions, seventh on the Wesleyan all-time receiving list. LiMichael Peeples (Fr.-Conyers, Ga.) also added four catches for 45 yards.
Tupai led the defense with 12 tackles. Chris Owens (Sr.-Greer, S.C.) added 10 tackles and Jimmy Lann (Fr.-Vernon, Ala.) posted a career-high seven tackles. T.J. Tolliver (Sr.-Bellwood, Ill.) also added six tackles and a sack.
Saturday’s game was the final home game for seven IWC seniors, including Fields, Moore, Owens, Tolliver, Tim Chavez (Champaign, Ill.), Brent Keaster (Visalia, Calif.) and Darious Watson (Bellwood, Ill.). Five other players were honored before the game as juniors in eligibility on track to graduate in the spring.
Box score SAU 49 IWC 10
