DEERFIELD, ILL. – Jared Maybin (Jr.-Baltimore, Md.) rushed for 95 yards and scored two touchdowns and the Iowa Wesleyan College defense shut out Trinity International University in the second half for a hard-earned 24-14 win Saturday afternoon.
The Tiger defense limited TIU to just 56 yards of offense in the first half and 188 yards in the game, helping IWC snap a19-game losing streak in Mid-States Football Association Midwest League play and improve to 3-5 overall, 1-3 in league play.
The Trojans were forced into three turnovers and also had just 11 first downs and only one drive longer than 30 yards in length in the game. Wesleyan’s defensive dominance in the second half also allowed the Tiger offense to hold the ball for a whopping 24 minutes in the second half.
IWC’s offense also had another big day with 444 yards in the game. Quarterback Bryan Abihider (Sr.-Hemet, Calif.) threw for 286 yards and connected with Lawrence Moore (So.-Country Club Hills, Ill.) eleven times for 148 yards.
The two hooked up for the Tigers’ first touchdown of the game in the second quarter. Trailing 7-0 after having turned the ball over in TIU territory on their previous two drives, Abihider hit Moore over the top on the first play of their next drive for a 70-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
After missing some opportunities in the first quarter, the Tigers looked in shape to take control after that. Later in the quarter IWC was on the move again and Abihider looked to have Moore in the clear again on a third down pass, but the wind caught it and Pete Miller intercepted and returned it 74 yards to the Tigers’ one-yard line. Trinity International scored on the next play to take a 14-7 lead with 2:47 left in the first half.
IWC came right back down the field, though, going 80 yards in just 1:51. Greg Fields (So.-St. Louis, Mo.) had a big third down catch and run for 27 yards, and on the next play Maybin ran it in from seven yards out to tie the game.
The Tigers actually had another chance in the half after defensive tackle Alex Holmes (Fr.-San Diego, Calif.) intercepted a Jordan Peterson pass to give IWC the ball at the Trojans’ 27 with 38 seconds left in the half. Wesleyan was unable to make much headway, though, and passed up a field goal attempt into the wind, going on fourth down and missing just before halftime.
The defense then came up with two more of its biggest plays early in the third quarter. TIU running back Cole Bamberger rushed for 116 yards in the game, but on his team’s first offensive play of the second half he was stripped by Scott Baldwin (Jr.-Penn Valley, Calif.) and Baldwin recovered to set up the Tigers in good field position.
IWC drove down to the TIU 13 before a fumbled snap resulted in another turnover, but the Tigers got the ball right back again on their next play as Scott Knipfer (Sr.-Cottage Grove, Wis.) recovered a fumble at the 12-yard line.
Knipfer missed a field goal attempt to end the drive, but the Trojans were left in poor field position again and went three downs and out. IWC did not waste good field position on its next drive, going 59 yards on seven plays with Maybin scoring from four yards out to give the Tigers the lead.
The Tiger defense continued to do the job in the fourth quarter, and Wesleyan added its final points when Knipfer’s 28-yard field goal with 3:30 left in the game capped an 11 play, 56-yard drive that took 6:25 off the clock.
IWC had 26 first downs in the game and 158 yards rushing to go with Abihider’s passing yardage. The senior quarterback completed 26 of 44 passes in the game and also added 51 yards rushing. Fields had six catches for 75 yards, while Deleon Bolds (Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) had three catches for 24 yards and Shane Newbill (So.-St. Louis, Mo.) added two catches for 24 yards. Both also had important third down catches in the fourth quarter to keep drives going.
Freshman Cameron Jones (O’Fallon, Mo.) led the IWC defense with six tackles. Kyle DeRossett (Sr.-Dupo, Ill.) added five tackles. Brennan Smith had 10 tackles to lead Trinity International, which dropped to 1-7 overall, 0-4 in the MSFA Midwest.
The Tigers next travel to Davenport to face St. Ambrose University next Saturday at 1 p.m. in another MSFA Midwest game. Wesleyan has already tied for the team’s most wins since 2005, when the Tigers finished 3-8 and also had been the season of the team’s last league win, a 37-16 win over the University of St. Francis (Ill.).
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.
Box score IWC 24 TIU 14
