Millikin Big Blue Football played Wheaton College Thunder Saturday, Nov. 2 at Frank M. Lindsay Field. Going into the game, Wheaton was ranked nineteenth in the nation and Millikin was 0-10 in their last ten matchups against Wheaton.
Wheaton struck first with a 39-yard pass from quarterback Jordan Roberts to tight end Hunter Thorson. Thorson made a one handed grab for the first score. Sam Cote kicked the extra point and it was good putting Wheaton up 7-0.
Wheaton made use of their fullback, Jesse Geary, to make several big plays. Geary took possession for almost an entire drive which led to a 25-yard field goal kick by Sam Cote. The kick was good putting Wheaton up 10-0.
In the second quarter, starting Millikin quarterback Nick Pippin gets hit from behind throwing an interception. Wheaton takes possession and throws an interception on the first play of their drive. Millikin is caught on a fourth and short and they go for it, but it was a trick play.
Pippin lets loose a quick 42-yard kick and the ball sticks at the one-yard line. Wheaton moves the ball downfield where Roberts gets intercepted a second time. This time the interception comes from freshman cornerback Treyvon Hawkins.
Millikin takes advantage of great field position and Pippin hits Taylor Sanders for a diving 7-yard touchdown catch. The extra point is good and Millikin trailed 10-7.
Wheaton takes possession once again and Roberts hits David Washko with a 35-yard touchdown pass. The extra point is good taking Wheaton’s lead to 17-7.
Millikin has possession of the ball once again. Pippin hands the ball off to Justin Brooks. Brooks just could not hang onto the ball resulting in a fumble and a turnover. Wheaton takes another possession inside the Millikin 30-yard line.
Roberts hands the ball off to Jacob Firnari who runs the ball 11 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. Wheaton continues to lead Millikin 24-7.
Millikin has possession of the ball but cannot finish their drive. Grant Shreve and the special teams take the field. Shreve has a beautiful spiral point to the 5-yard line where a Wheaton returner calls for a fair catch, decides to run anyway, but can’t hold onto the ball. Millikin recovers the fumble and takes over at the 5-yard line.
Sean Dunning lines up wide right of Pippin and delivers a two-yard touchdown on a fade route closing the gap on Wheaton. Millikin trails 24-14 with 2:29 left in the first half.
On Wheaton’s next drive, Roberts delivers a 21-yard pass to Washko with the extra point. Wheaton increases their lead to 31-14 with 29.6 seconds left in the first half. The first half ends with the score 31-14.
The second half begins with a Millikin turnover on downs. Pippin was under pressure, so he ran for the first down but took a dive just shy of the first down line.
Wheaton takes possession but Roberts throws his third pick of the day to Mykal Neal. Millikin takes possession and Dunning gets a huge breakaway but gets pushed out of bounds. There is a pass interference call on Wheaton giving Millikin a first down at the one-yard line.
Dunning takes the ball in for another touchdown and Millikin continues to trail 31-21. Wheaton takes possession and Roberts delivers a screen pass to Matt Mitchell making the score 38-21.
On the next punt, Torin Geary, for Millikin, fumbles the ball and Wheaton takes over inside Millikin territory. Special teams takes the field and San Cote follows through with a 43-yard field goal kick increasing Wheaton’s lead to 41-21 with 4:14 left in the third quarter.
There is another fumble on the next kick, but Millikin scrambles and recovers the ball. Millikin is not able to finish their drive and produces nothing. Wheaton takes over. Roberts hands the ball off to Firnari who threads the needle and runs 39 yards for a touchdown making the score 48-21. The third quarter ended with a huge sack on Pippin for a big loss.
Fourth quarter begins and Wheaton changed up their offense a bit and puts Reese Butler in at quarterback with Justin Swider at runningback. Swider breaks away with a 21-yard touchdown improving Wheaton’s score to 55-21.
Millikin again takes possession but can’t deliver on the drive. Wheaton takes over and goes for the field goal. Cote comes in and nails his third field goal of the day taking Wheaton’s lead to 58-21.
Millikin has one last possession but once more can’t deliver on the drive and Wheaton takes over for the last time. Wheaton gets into the red zone but takes a knee twice and runs down the clock.
Final Score: Wheaton Thunder-58 Millikin Big Blue-21