BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team used an early lead to pull away from Trine University, 45-35, on Senior Day inside Tucci Stadium Saturday, Sept. 12. The Titans soared to 2-0 with the victory, marking its best start since 2017, while the Thunder dipped to 1-1.
Illinois Wesleyan's offense clicked early and often, finishing with 507 total yards of offense. The Titans threw for 352 yards and added another 155 on the ground. Trine finished with 431 yards of total offense, doing most of its damage in the run game as the Thunder totaled 235 yards on 37 carries.
Senior Dermot Smyth (Chicago, Ill.-Marist) led the offense, completing 22-of-39 passes for five touchdowns. He also finished as the Titans' leading rusher with 69 yards on seven carries. Smyth ripped off a 56-yard scamper for a touchdown to break 1000 career rushing yards, becoming the first Titan quarterback to throw for 5000 yards and eclipse the four-digit mark on the ground.
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Smyth's top receiver was junior Will Nazha (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington), who finished with 143 yards receiving on 10 catches including three touchdowns. His trio of TD receptions are the most by a Titan since Charlie Hamilton's three in 2021 against Carthage. Senior Jimmy Deacy (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel) pulled in six snags for 75 yards, while sophomore Dylan Hodges (Sycamore, Ill.-Sycamore) and senior Cooper King (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) registered touchdown catches.
Defensively, it was a senior-led effort for the Green and White. Joey DeMaio (Woodridge, Ill.-Lemont) topped the team with 11 tackles, eight solo and three assisted, while finishing with two sacks and an interception. John Gavin (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Prospect) and Nathan Frank (Hoffman Estates, Ill.-Hoffman Estates) tallied eight apiece, with Ian Whitaker (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) tacking on seven.
Junior Lucas Lappin (Lake Zurich, Ill.-Lake Zurich) set the tone with an interception on Trine's first possession, but IWU was stood up on fourth down. The home team began clicking on its next possession, as the Titans jolted out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. A big catch down the sideline by sophomore Cade Danko (Bloomington, Ill.-Tri-Valley) moved the chains and set the Titans off. Moments later, Smyth connected with Nazha near the pylon for the game's first score.
Illinois Wesleyan's next score was aided by a Trine penalty, as the Thunder defensive lineman somersaulted across the line of scrimmage to draw a free play. Smyth took full advantage, finding Deacy along the IWU sideline for a first down. After a run by senior Malik Gray (Chicago, Ill.-IC Catholic Prep) moved the chains once again, Smyth called his own number to convert on fourth and short. The Green and White capped off the eight-play, 70-yard drive with another Smyth-Nazha score to run its lead to 14-0.
In the second quarter, Smyth hit a wide open Hodges down the right hash. The 33-yard touchdown reception gave Hodges the first of his career and boosted the lead to 21-0 with 10:12 left in the second quarter.
Trine cracked the scoring column midway through the period and held the Illinois Wesleyan offense to a field goal try with 1:05 remaining in the half. The Thunder stopped the Titans on third down, but sophomore Lach Sullivan (Rochester, Ill.-Rochester) split the uprights on a career-long 47-yard field goal to send IWU into the break leading, 24-7. Sullivan's kick was the longest by a Titan since 2004. Sullivan's kick matches Mike Berry's FG at Wheaton Oct. 23, 2004, for the second-longest in program history.
Trine scored first out of the half, but IWU clapped right back with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up more than four minutes. Smyth rolled out and hit King on the left side and the six-foot-three tight end muscled his way through the defense for a senior day score.
The Thunder scored once more in the third and then again in the fourth to cut the Titan lead to two, 31-29, but DeMaio came in clutch with a third-down interception. The Green and White cashed in on Smyth's third TD to Nazha to reclaim a 38-29 cushion with 6:56 to play.
DeMaio blew up the Thunder comeback attempt with his second sack of the game, going untouched up the middle en route to the takedown. Schmidt joined the sack party with one of his own, doing so on fourth down, to hand the ball to the Titan offense. Coming out of the under-two timeout and facing third-and-long, Smyth split the Thunder defense and motored to the end zone for a 56-yard score to boost the lead to 45-29.
Trine scored on a three-yard run from its quarterback, but Illinois Wesleyan recovered an onside kick to close out the win.
The Titans will take their 2-0 record on the road as College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play kicks off Saturday, Sept. 19. IWU will travel to Augustana College for a 1 p.m. start.
