DE PERE, Wis. – For the first three quarters of Saturday's early-season battle between the two Midwest Conference favorites, it looked like there was no comparison between the teams. Twenty-seven unanswered points in the second and third quarters gave Illinois College a 27-6 lead on St. Norbert College entering the final 15 minutes. But St. Norbert is favored to win the North Division for a reason and the Green Knights showed why in the fourth quarter, rallying past the Blueboys for a 32-27 win. IC drops to 1-2 early on in the season while St. Norbert improves to 2-1.
It was apparent early on that this game wouldn't have quite the fireworks of IC's previous matchup with Rose-Hulman. The Blueboys couldn't score on either of their first two possessions of the first quarter and St. Norbert was able to take the lead with a short field late in the opening period. Taking over at their own 45, the Green Knights went 55 yards in nine plays, ending in a one-yard plunge from Elijah Fort for a 6-0 lead.
Illinois College got things going at the end of the quarter and was in St. Norbert territory as the second quarter began. Forced into a fourth and 11 from the SNC 26, the Blueboys opted to go for it and were rewarded with a touchdown pass from Michael Bates to Josh Gentile. The extra point was blocked and the score was tied, 6-6.
The tide quickly began to turn in Illinois College's favor. Though the Blueboys had their next drive stall out in the St. Norbert red zone, IC took the lead for the first time thanks to its defense. On the second play of the ensuing Green Knight drive, quarterback James Tringali was stripped of the football. Zack Hanlon was on the spot to scoop it up and take it 17 yards into the end zone, putting IC up, 13-6.
On the next St. Norbert possession, a sack by Dylan Schuler on first down paved the way for a three-and-out by the Green Knights. Busting through the line on fourth down, Jacob Homann blocked the ensuing punt and set IC up with possession at the St. Norbert 42 to start its next drive.
It took all of two plays for the Blueboys to double their lead to 14 points. The first play went from Bates downfield to Bryce Heaton for 38 yards inside the St. Norbert five-yard line. Dakota Lammy took it in from there on a powerful burst through the Green Knight defense from four yards out. The lead would remain 20-6 at halftime with Illinois College dominating all facets of the contest.
St. Norbert had possession to open the second half, but Adam Hickson forced a fumble on the first play of the drive and recovered the ball at the Green Knight 25 to put Illinois College in great position. St. Norbert began to show some strength on defense with its back to the wall, but IC was able to get in the end zone nine plays later on a one-yard run from Bates, making it 27-6.
The score held throughout the remainder of the third quarter and it appeared the Blueboys were firmly in command entering the final 15 minutes. Opening the fourth quarter, St. Norbert faced a fourth and one and completed a 36-yard pass down to the Illinois College two-yard line. A touchdown on the next play gave life back to the Green Knights, who trailed, 27-13, with more than 14 minutes remaining.
The next two drives resulted in three-and-outs from the Illinois College offense and St. Norbert responded with touchdowns on each new offensive opportunity. The first came on a 54-yard touchdown run from Zach Broberg to make it 27-20. The next was a 19-yard completion to Brett Olson to bring the Green Knights within a point, 27-26, before the PAT attempt was blocked, allowing IC to retain the lead.
A rattled Illinois College offense again was forced on punt on its next chance with the ball and St. Norbert chewed up the clock with an 11-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a two-yard run from Broberg to complete the comeback and give the Green Knights a 32-27 lead with less than three minutes to play.
Suddenly needing a touchdown to escape with a win, the Blueboys were able to pick up a pair of first downs and advance into St. Norbert territory in the final two minutes of the game. Back-to-back runs from Bates got IC to the Green Knight 41-yard line, but two incompletions followed and St. Norbert ran out the final minute to get the victory.
Bates ended the game with 218 yards through the air on 22-of-40 passing and two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing). Gentile led the IC receiving corps with seven catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, while Heaton led all receivers in the game with 84 yards on six catches. Lammy picked up 83 yards on the ground on 25 carries.
Defensively, Dylan Ringhausen racked up 15 tackles (13 solo) to lead the team. Hanlon had six tackles in addition to his fumble return for a touchdown and Schuler had six tackles and a sack.
Illinois College returns home on Oct. 4 to face Ripon College at 1 p.m. from England Stadium.
IC Football Stunned at St. Norbert, 32-27
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140927_860t.xml
2014
Illinois College
27
St. Norbert
32
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois College (1-2) | 0 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
| St. Norbert (2-1) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 32 |
Sep 27, 2014