MOUNT PLEASANT – Jaren Maybin (Jr.-Baltimore, Md.) and Bryan Abihider (Sr.-Hemet, Calif.) combined for 210 yards rushing and Iowa Wesleyan College scored 26 second half points in a 36-24 win over Grand View College Saturday night.
The Tigers rushed for 230 yards as a team and scored five rushing touchdowns in front of a lively crowd at Evans Field for the program’s first win at home since 2005. IWC improved to 2-2 on the season and has multiple wins in a season for the first time since 2005.
IWC took over the game in the second half with a combination of time-consuming drives on offense and a defense that came up with the big stop when needed. The Tigers scored touchdowns on four of their five drives in the second half, and the defense recovered a second half fumble and also stopped two more Viking drives on downs.
Maybin rushed for 137 yards on 18 carries and scored three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter. He posted his second straight 100-yard rushing game, becoming the first Tiger to accomplish that feat since Jabari Woods in 2005.
Maybin’s second touchdown of the game answered a Grand View touchdown and put the Tigers ahead 29-17 with 7:39 in the game. He also added an insurance touchdown with 1:40 left, scoring from five yards out one play after linebacker Scott Baldwin (Jr.-Penn Valley, Calif.) forced a fumble by Viking quarterback Brad Schmit, recovered it and returned the ball 40 yards to the Grand View five-yard line.
Abihider added 73 yards rushing on 17 carries, often making smart decisions on the option or pulling the ball down on passing plays and scrambling for yardage. The senior scored the go-ahead touchdown for IWC in the third quarter, capping an 11-play, 79-yard drive with a one-yard sneak to put the Tigers ahead 16-10. Abihider also had an efficient night passing the ball, completing 13 of 19 passes for 151 yards.
The Tiger defense allowed 314 yards in the game but came up with big plays throughout the night when needed. IWC had five sacks and fumble recoveries by Baldwin and Eric Stepney (So.-St. Louis, Mo.), both stopping promising drives for the Vikings.
The Tigers also stopped Grand View on downs twice in the second half. The first stop came at a critical time after Abihider’s score and allowed the offense to respond and open up a cushion when Jermaine Paul (So.-Houston, Texas) scampered up the middle from 17 yards out for a 23-10 lead.
IWC’s defense also did its part by limiting the big-play Vikings to just two plays over 20 yards in the game. Grand View got one of those plays in the first half when Jay Medellin took caught a fourth down pass and ran 36 yards for a touchdown and a 10-7 lead. The Tigers came back with a field goal late in the half, though. Tyler McGuire (Sr.-Mount Pleasant, Iowa) substituted for regular place kicker Scott Knipfer (Sr.-Cottage Grove, Wis.), who sat out the game with a knee injury, and McGuire made a 23-yard field goal to give IWC a 10-10 tie at the half.
The Tigers outgained the Vikings 381-314 and ran the ball 39 times to just 19 passes. Lawrence Moore (So.-Country Club Hills, Ill.) led the IWC receivers with five catches for 70 yards, while Greg Fields (So.-St. Louis, Mo.) added two big catches for 45 yards to sustain drives in the second half. IWC’s offensive line also allowed just one sack and was a big reason for the team’s average of 5.9 yards per rushing attempt.
Darious Watson (Jr.-Bellwood, Ill.) returned after missing last week’s game to injury and led the defense with seven tackles. Kris Fleming (Jr.-Chicago, Ill.) had two of Wesleyan’s five sacks.
Lawrence Furlow rushed for 98 yards on 24 carries for Grand View, which dropped to 1-4 overall in its first season of football. Schmit finished 22 of 35 passing for 228 yards, including 142 yards in the fourth quarter as the Vikings played catch-up.
IWC completes a three-game homestand with its Homecoming game next Saturday against Olivet Nazarene University. The game at Evans Field will begin at 1 p.m. and will be both teams’ Mid-States Football Association Midwest League opener for this season.
For more information regarding the IWC football program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
