Wilmington 33, Lisle 7
If football fields were 80 yards long, Lisle would have been in business against visiting Wilmington in Friday night's Interstate Eight Conference crossover contest at Benedictine University.
Three times in the first half the Lions moved inside the Wildcats' 25, but they came up empty each time and trailed 13-0 at the half on the way to dropping a 33-7 decision.
Lisle (0-3) opened the game in a two tight end, wishbone formation and ran the ball right at the Wildcats (2-1), using 12 plays to advance to the Wilmington 14 before a failed fourth-down play turned the ball over to the visitors.
Wilmington turned the tide immediately as Mike Gruhn broke off a 60-yard run on the first snap, leading to Eric Walps' 41-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. It would be a recurring theme for the game--the Lions did all the heavy lifting, but the Wildcats used quick strikes to take control of the game.
"They had a good game plan and really ran it at us," said Wilmington coach Jeff Reents, "but when it came down to fourth down, we were good. I'm glad we came through there."
Joe McCarthy's 61-yard kickoff return set the Lions up in Wilmington territory again, but a holding penalty and sack of quarterback John Surber led to a punt. Lisle's next possession ended in a lost fumble that gave the Wildcats a short field. They took quick advantage as Colin Webb hit Matt Halderson from 29 yards out on the first play for a 10-0 lead. The first half ended with another killer for the Lions as the Wildcats marched 94 yards in 12 plays in the final two minutes to set up Walps' 20-yard field goal.
The momentum carried over to the second half as Wilmington capped the first possession with Webb's 15-yard touchdown run. Another lost fumble by the Lions led to another short field and Wilmington's next score, Ty Surman's 1-yard plunge.
Lisle's lone offensive bright spot came early in the fourth quarter when Cameron Wright, who had replaced the injured Surber, found Tim Smith alone along the right sideline for an 86-yard score.
"I thought we had them, but obviously there were some things we didn't do good enough and we'll work on them," Wright said. "I thought I had a chance to be the starting quarterback, but I'll do whatever helps the team. I didn't do enough tonight because we lost."
The Wildcats closed the scoring when Lisle's third lost fumble of the night led to Steve Heino's 4-yard sweep with just more than two minutes to play.