JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – In a thrilling battle between the Midwest Conference's North and South Division winners, the visiting Macalester Scots were able to score the game's final 10 points and escape with a 30-27 victory over Illinois College on Saturday afternoon. The Scots (9-1, 5-0 MWC North) will represent the conference in the NCAA Division III playoffs beginning on Nov. 22. IC wraps up its year at 7-3 (5-0 MWC South).
Both teams showed throughout the game why they were worthy representatives of their respective divisions. After going down by a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, Macalester battled back on two occasions to lead and eventually win the game. On the other side, Illinois College put up more points and yards on the Scots than any other team this season. With both teams executing as they hoped they would coming in, the game was tight throughout and hinged on just a few plays.
The contest started off about as well as Illinois College possibly could have hoped. After winning the coin toss and choosing to defer to the second half, the Blueboys opened on defense. Forcing the Scots into a third-and-long situation early, Macalester was trying to run a safe running play on third down but instead coughed it up. Marvell White forced the fumble and Dylan Ringhausen returned it to the Macalester 31 to start IC's first possession.
After moving the ball eight yards in three plays, Illinois College was looking at a fourth-and-short from the Macalester 23. Utilizing play action to freeze the defense for a split second, Michael Bates found a wide-open Brendan Finley down the middle of the field and Finley rumbled in the rest of the way to give IC a 6-0 lead.
Macalester again couldn't get anything going on its next possession. Though the Scots picked up one first down, they then took an 18-yard loss after a bad snap to quarterback Samson Bialostok. Two incompletions followed and the ensuing punt gave the ball back to IC at its own 40 to start another drive in excellent field position.
Working their way down the field, the Blueboys converted a fourth down for the second straight drive to move into the Macalester red zone. A nice pass from Bates to Bryce Heaton on the sideline moved the chains and Bates and Dyllan Bailey then ran four straight times with Bailey taking it in from one yard out for IC's second score. Having missed the extra point on the first touchdown, the Blueboys went for two and Bates hit Logan Uyetake in the end zone to make it 14-0.
Thoughts of an Illinois College blowout were premature. Bialostok showed good composure when asked to pass, completing four balls of more than 10 yards on the next Macalester drive. His last completion went 31 yards to a streaking Victor Bordo to give the Scots some life and slice the lead to 14-7 after the opening quarter.
Jole Miller then intercepted Bates on the first play of the second quarter and returned it 52 yards to give Macalester the ball inside the Illinois College 10-yard line. On a fourth-and-goal, Bialostok bought time with his legs before finding Bordo again from four yards out to knot the score at 14-14.
Following a three-and-out from IC, Macalester took its first lead of the game with a three-yard touchdown run from Zandy Stowell, though the extra point attempt from the Scots was blocked to keep the lead to 20-14. The key play on the drive, which started on the Macalester 16, was a 58-yard burst up the middle from Stowell to set up the Scots with a first-and-goal.
Each team was intercepted on their next drives. Bates attempted a long downfield ball for Uyetake that Konnor Fleming was able to leap up and grab. Driving for another potential touchdown, Bialostok was picked off by Dinari Ellis, who returned it 59 yards to set up Illinois College with the ball at the Macalester 36.
On a third down from the Macalester 17-yard line, Bates found Uyetake on a curl route to tie the game at 20-20. Going for a two-point conversion again, the Blueboys were unable to convert and the score went into halftime deadlocked.
Ball control was the name of the game in the third quarter, with long drives milking the clock quickly and neither team able to break the tie. Illinois College received to open the quarter and went 63 yards in 16 plays before turning the ball over on downs deep in Macalester territory. The Scots responded with a seven-play, 39-yard drive that ended when Stowell was stuffed on a fourth-and-one from the IC 34-yard line. Taking over with 4:39 left in the quarter, the Blueboys began a march that would end the third quarter with them inside the Macalester 20.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Bates was forced out of the pocket to his left, but Finley was moving along with him to the corner of the end zone and the senior found him in stride to give Illinois College a 27-20 advantage. The Blueboys continued to lead as the clock bled under 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Macalester didn't seem to have much going as it faced a second-and-15 from its own 30 around the eight-minute mark of the quarter, but Bialostok was able to put a ball just over the outstretched arms of two IC defenders to find Tre Nowaczynski behind the defense. He would go 70 yards and Michael Abramson's extra point tied the game at 27-27.
Starting with the ball from their own 25, the Blueboys quickly picked apart the Scots and moved downfield. A 25-yard run from Bailey moved the ball across the 50 and a pair of completions to Heaton gave IC a first down at the Macalester 29-yard line. On a second down, Bates scrambled up the middle for a nice gain, but had the ball jostled loose as he fell. In a call that could have gone either way, it was ruled that he lost the ball before his knee hit the turf, giving the Scots the ball back with 6:23 remaining.
Given a reprieve from possibly having to come from behind yet again, Macalester began a drive that served as the perfect representation of what it has been able to do all year. Going 74 yards in 13 methodical plays, the Scots got the ball inside the Illinois College five-yard line before stalling out. An Abramson field goal with 52 seconds remaining put the visitors ahead.
The Blueboys would have one final crack at it. Starting from its own 37, Illinois College picked up consecutive first downs with completions to Heaton and Uyetake to move into Macalester territory. But on a second-and-10, Phil Wettersten made a diving interception of a Bates pass intended for Uyetake to seal the victory.
Bates ended the day 24-of-34 for 227 yards and three touchdowns. For his career, the all-time leading passer in Illinois College history walks away with 10,787 yards and 107 touchdowns. He also added 80 yards on the ground on Saturday. Uyetake was the leading receiver for the Blueboys, hauling in 10 passes for 69 yards and a score. Heaton added eight catches for 77 yards. Bailey chipped in with 60 yards on 11 carries.
The IC defense was led by the linebacker duo of Ringhausen and Dylan Schuler. Each had 10 tackles on the afternoon. James Dambacher and Marvell White each had five tackles, including a sack.
At 7-3 for the season, Illinois College put together a fourth consecutive winning season for the first time since the 1930s. The Blueboys had five straight winning records from 1933-37. This season's graduating class leaves IC with an overall record of 32-9.
Macalester Sneaks Past IC Football for MWC Title
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141115_v5tb.xml
2014
Macalester
30
Illinois College
27
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macalester (9-1) | 7 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 30 |
| Illinois College (7-3) | 14 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
Nov 15, 2014