Benedictine ends Aurora’s long conference win streak
The skies seemed to know something strange and ominous was happening in Aurora last Saturday.
The Benedictine University-Aurora University rivalry football game was stopped and delayed for about an hour in the middle of the fourth quarter. When play resumed, Benedictine drove 80 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and pulled off a 36-35 road victory in Division III.
How unusual was this result? It snapped Aurora's 46-game win streak in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference and was the first league loss ever for coach Don Beebe. Aurora has had a stranglehold on the NACC since Beebe arrived in 2018.
“We've been close,” Benedictine coach Jim Schroeder said. “A couple years ago we were really good. Unfortunately, our QB had the ligament rip off his thumb (in a 20-13 loss in 2022). And that was the year (Aurora) won two playoff games.”
Last Saturday at Vago Field, Aurora led 35-17 at the end of three quarters. The visiting Eagles scored two quick touchdowns early in the fourth, thanks to an interception by Jake Diamantos (Downers Grove South). Aurora then mounted a long drive and missed a 35-yard field goal with 6:45 left. That's when the weather delay began.
“Aurora campus security was great about it, just getting us in shelter,” said Schroeder, in his seventh season at the Lisle school. “After about an hour, we warmed up for 10 minutes and drove the field. Our kids just showed so much resilience. They never wavered.
“Even our crowd was awesome. I don't think any of our fans left. They were chanting, singing songs — it was pretty cool. I think they just had a belief we were going to find a way to win that game, and we did.”
Benedictine's winning drive began with 41 rushing yards by Dino Stephens (Bolingbrook). Then quarterback Jack Moses (Lake Zurich) found Alex Siebens (DeKalb) over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown with 2:07.
Moses spent a couple seasons as a walk-on receiver for Northwestern. According to Schroeder, Moses was away from football for a few years, wanted to give it another try and joined Benedictine last spring.
“He wanted an opportunity to play quarterback and we needed one,” Schroeder said. “That was literally his third start in a college game at the quarterback position. He's just improved every single day since he's been here.”
Schroeder also credited improvement on the offensive line for Benedictine's success. The group includes starting tackles Isaac Eshun (Bolingbrook) and Matt Harris (Marmion).
Two Aurora wide receivers put up huge numbers Saturday — Trey Urwiler (Batavia) with 6 catches for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Connor Bright (Plainfield East) with 6 for 164 and 2 TDs. Benedictine's Santino Florio (Montini) caught 3 TD passes.
“Aurora-Benedictine, if both teams were 0-9 and going into Week 10, I think it would still be a big deal,” Schroeder said. “A lot of people contributed to that victory, kids who helped build our culture the five or six years before this. It's a fun game to play in.”
There's still a long way to go in the season and even one loss could open the door for Aurora to get back into playoff contention in a three-way tie. Benedictine is back on the road this week at Concordia (Wisconsin). Another potential test is at St. Norbert on Nov. 1.
New low for Illini
Illini coach Bret Bielema said for the first time in his career, he watched a replay of last week's 63-10 loss to Indiana on the bus ride home, and concluded the result was, “Not as bad as I thought.”
It looked pretty bad. Indiana finished with a 579-161 advantage in total yards and piled up 7 sacks. To stay in playoff contention, the Illini need a win against USC on Saturday in Champaign.
“I want it to hurt,” Bielema said at this weekly news conference. “I was very happy to see as many guys as I saw (mad) in the locker room afterward. And somber on Sunday. I didn't have a group coming in bopping to the music, they were disappointed.”
Urwiler honored
Northern Illinois linebacker Quinn Urwiler (Batavia) made the Pro Football Focus college team of the week after recording 14 tackles against Mississippi State. The Huskies get a chance to test themselves against Mountain West competition Saturday when San Diego State visits DeKalb (2:30, ESPN+). While NIU is joining the MWC next year, the Aztecs are one of the teams leaving to join the reworked Pac-8. …
In this week's FCS poll, Illinois State is No. 5 and Southern Illinois No. 12. Both teams are off this week, then both will play No. 1-ranked North Dakota State. The Bison visit ISU on Oct. 4, and host SIU a week later. …
The cross-state rivalry will take place Saturday, with Eastern Illinois (1-2) visiting Western Illinois (1-3) for the Ohio Valley-Big South opener.