Indiana University Football Scores a School Record 77 Points against Western Illinois
After scoring 31 points in the season opener against Florida International last Saturday afternoon the Indiana Hoosiers responded with 42 points in the first half end route a 77-3 win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks Friday Night at Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers are 2-0 and will travel to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California Saturday Night to face the UCLA Bruins in the Big Ten Conference Opener and the first for UCLA as member of the Big Ten Conference. Western Illinois drops to 0-2 on the season and have dropped 26 games in a row since a 38-31 home win against Illinois State on October 30, 2021. This was the first meeting between the two teams and 18-1 all-time against Football Championship Subdivision Opponents since 1978 and extend their winning streak to 15 games against FCS Teams.
The Hoosiers scored on their first seven possessions and on the eight possessions in the first half they ran 1 play for 9 yards before heading to the locker room up 42-3 at half. Kurtis Rourke went 14-16 for 280 yards and 2 touchdown passes to Andison Coby and Elijah Sarratt. The Hoosiers running game had 22 carries for 155 yards and four touchdowns by Justice Ellison, Ty Son Lawton, Elijah Green and Kurtis Rourke. The Hoosiers had 415 yards of offense in the first half along with 21 first downs, 4-4 on 3rd down conversions and control the ball for 19 minutes and 15 seconds. Western Illinois deferred their choice to the second half giving the Hoosiers the ball first and the Hoosiers scored in a minute and 58 seconds on a five play 68-yard drive when Rourke found Coby on a 38-yard touchdown pass. The Hoosiers longest time of possession drive was 10 plays 60 yards and 5:13 when Rourke scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 2:27 left in the second quarter. The Hoosiers scored 28 points in the first quarter for the first time October 17, 2015, when the Hoosiers scored 28 points in a 55-52 home loss to Rutgers. The 42 points were the most that the Hoosiers have scored in a first half since September 11, 2021, when Indiana scored 35 points against Idaho at home.
Western Illinois punted on their first five possessions as Indiana forced a three and out on each drive going 1-7 on third down conversions. Western Illinois ran 15 plays for 4 yards total after two drives finished with a combined negative 13 yards. The Leathernecks scored with 30 seconds left in the second quarter on a 31-yard field goal by Antonio Chadha capping off a 12 play 69-yard drive and four first downs. Quarterback Nathan Lamb went 8-15 for 85 yards as the Western Illinois running game had 11 carries for 13 yards as the Leathernecks finished with 98 yards of total offense and had 6 penalties for 42 yards. Lamb was sacked twice in the first half for a total of 10 yards and had the ball for 10 minutes and 55 seconds.
In the second half it was the same story as the Leathernecks punted for 6th time after a 6 play 1 yard drive. The Hoosiers scored on their eighth possession of the night when Justice Ellison ripped off a 47-yard touchdown run to cap off a 4 play 69-yard drive that took one minute and thirty-six seconds as the Hoosiers led 49-3 with 8:58 left in the third quarter. After Western Illinois punted for 7th time with 8 play 14-yard drive with 4:48 left in the third quarter. Tayven Jackson took over at Quarterback replacing Rourke who finished the game 15-17 for 268 passing yards and 2 touchdowns along with 3 carries for 13 yards and a rushing touchdown. Jackson capped off 7 plays 63-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to put the Hoosiers up 55-3 with 1:02 left in the third quarter. Jackson found Omar Cooper Jr. on a 69-yard score with 13:44 left in the game to make it 63-3. WIU Quarterback Nathan Lamb was picked off by Ta’ Derius Collins but the Hoosiers turned the ball over on downs which was the second time in 11 possessions the Hoosiers did not score. On the next play Lamb was picked off for the second time and Rolijah Hardy ran it back 12 yards for the touchdown to make it 70-3 with 11:29 left and the Hoosiers scored over 70 points for the 5th time in program history and the first since 2013 when the Hoosiers beat Indiana State August 29, 2013 when the Hoosiers beat the Sycamores 73-35. After the Hoosiers recovered a fumble Freshman Charlie Becker scored on 3-yard run and Nicolas Radicic kicked a school record eleventh extra point to make it 77-3 with 9:10 left in the game as the Hoosiers broke the School Record for the most points in a game since a 76-0 win over Franklin College in 1901. Western Illinois chewed up six minutes and four seconds of clock and punted it away for the 9th time. The Hoosiers got the ball back and ran out the clock running 10 plays and 65 yards to end the game.
The Hoosiers had 703 yards of total offense with 378 passing yards as three quarterbacks combined to go 19-21 and 3 touchdowns. 11 Hoosiers carried the ball 47 times for 323 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Hoosiers had 32 first downs, 7-9 on third down conversions, 1-2 on fourth down conversions, 6-8 in red zone trips and 2 penalties for 25 yards. The Hoosiers ran 68 plays and controlled the clock for 34 minutes and 31 seconds. Tayven Jackson went 3-3 for 104 yards passing and 1 touchdown as Alberto Mendoza went 1-1 for 9 yards. Justice Ellison had 9 carries for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wide Receivers Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. went over 100 yards as Sarratt had 6 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown and Cooper Jr. had 4 catches for 136 yards and a score. Indiana scored on 10 of their 13 possessions.
Western Illinois finished 121 yards of total offense as Quarterback Nathan Lamb finished 13-25 for 109 yards and 2 interceptions. The Leathernecks had 6 rushers carry the ball for 12 yards as Lamb was sacked 6 times. Western Illinois had 9 penalties for 56 yards, 8 first downs, 3-14 on third down conversions, 1-1 on trips to the redzone and 1 fumble. Western Illinois ran 56 plays and controlled the ball for 25 minutes and 29 seconds. Western Illinois punted nine times and turned it over three more times as the Leathernecks avoided the shutout.
Indiana Women’s Soccer Celebrates Senior Day with a 9-0 win over Lawrence University
The Indiana Hoosiers celebrated Women’s Soccer Senior Day on Sunday Afternoon at Bill Armstrong Stadium as the Hoosiers won 9-0 over Division Three Lawrence University from Appleton, Wisconsin in the first ever meeting between the two programs. The Hoosiers are 5-0-1 on the season and open Big Ten Play at home on Thursday Night at 7:30pm against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Lawrence who came in to Sunday’s Match with a 2-1 record will remain on the road taking on Marian University in Fond du Lac Wisconsin. Jamie Gerstenberg, Sydney Masur, Shea O’Malley, Avery Snead, Ava Akeel, Lauren Costello, Hope Parades and Camille Hamm were all honored before the game as part of the Senior Day festivities and all eight started the match with Freshman Haden Vleck, Sophomores Kennedy Neighbors and Piper Coffield rounding out the starting eleven. Gerstenberg got her 27th career win and her school record 29th career shutout between the pipes as her mom made the trip from Germany to be with her on her senior day. “We would not be in this position without them, and we are thankful for them that they have been able to stick with us especially Jamie, Ava, Sydney and Camielle and they are all great people and mean so much to the program”. Indiana Head Coach Erwin van Bennekom said after the match.
For the first 28 Minutes Lawrence Goalkeeper Ella Lysne was holding her own as she faced 20 shots and made four saves and the Lawrence Bench was celebrating her effort as the 5-9 Junior from La Crosse, Wisconsin was having a performance of a lifetime between the pipes for the Vikings. In the 29th minute Piper Coffield converted the penalty kick for her second goal of the season to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead. Seven minutes later the Hoosiers were given a free kick right outside the center box and Freshman Layla Sirdah scored her team leading third goal of the season. Indiana added a third goal as Olivia Rush scored her second goal of the season at the 53:03 mark with assist to Marisa Grzesiak for her first of season. As Expected, the Hoosiers dominated the first half controlling the ball of the majority of the first half and putting up 30 shots with nine shots on goal. Lawrence committed four fouls while the Hoosiers committed two as the Hoosiers had four corner kicks and neither team was called for offsides. Lawrence did not have a shot and never got possession of the ball on their attacking third of field.
In the second half the Hoosiers kept attacking and scoring. Arianna Rose scored her first goal of the season at the 53:03 mark with a shot that sailed around the Lawrence defender and snuck into the top right of goal as defender blocked the view of Lysne and was able sneak through the back of the net to make it 4-0. The Hoosiers added a fifth goal at the 57:41 mark by Ellie Johannes for her first goal of the season with the assist to Mary Kate Sullivan and Ava Akeel. The Vikings had 2 shot attempts at the 70-minute mark within 15 seconds of each other as Ava Elders and Kylie Melonis and 11 seconds after the Melonis shot the Hoosiers found a sixth goal by Kennedy Neighbors for her third goal of the season at the 70:35 mark. Layla Sirdah completed a hat trick at the 76:17 mark. Sirdah found the back of the net for the fourth time at the 78:41 mark with the assist to Elle Britt. Sirdah became the second Hoosier to score 4 goals in one game joining Paige Webber who did on her Senior Day in 2023 against Hanover. Sirdah has started every game this season and has made an immediate impact and credits her teammates for her quick start. “A lot of it comes from the team with the chemistry and environment and definitely cannot do it without them” Layla Sirdah said after the game.
The Hoosiers outshot Lawrence 43-2 and 17-0 in shots on goal. Ella Lysne made 9 saves for Lawrence while Jamie Gerstenberg did not make save. Indiana committed 5 fouls and Lawrence committed four. Indiana had 8 corner kicks and were called for offsides twice. Lawrence Freshman Kate Noonan hails from Osceola, Indiana and played at Penn High School started and played 86 minutes. Both teams played the majority of their players with each team using 24 players. Indiana 4-2 all-time” against non-division 1 teams.
Bloomington North and Bloomington South win at home while Edgewood gets Shut Out
Week 3 of High School Football saw all three Monroe County Teams at home Friday Night as the Bloomington Schools battled the Terre Haute Schools and Edgewood hosted Cascade on the red carpet in Ellettsville. Bloomington North beat Terre Haute South 41-29 and Bloomington South beat Terre Haute North 37-20 while Edgewood struggled falling to Cascade 42-0. Bloomington North and South are 2-1 on the season and face off this Friday Night in the annual city battle at Bloomington North. Edgewood is 1-2 and will host Owen Valley for the Black and Blue Trophy.
Bloomington North Quarterback Dash King carried the ball 22 times for 175 yards and scored 4 touchdowns along with 10-11 for passing for 157 yards. Noah Ferree had 17 carries for 59 yards with a touchdown and Jorian Brooks caught 5 passes for 76 yards. The Cougars racked up 313 yards on the ground and had 13 first downs. Tyissac Corbin had 131 rushing for Terre Haute South and touchdown. Treva Branch opened the game with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and had a rushing touchdown. The Cougars led 24-13 at halftime and outscored the Braves 17-16 in the second half. Joe Luther added 2 field goals for Bloomington North and Terre Haute South Quarterback and Indiana State Commit Brady Wilson became the third Terre Haute South Quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in his career joining Kyle Toney and Timmy Herrin. Herrin was a pitcher for Indiana University and is with the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball.
Bloomington South led Terre Haute North 17-0 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. The Panthers led 23-6 at halftime. In the Second Half Bloomington South scored 14 more points in the third quarter to lead 37-6 going into the fourth. Terre Haute North scored 2 touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make it 37-20. Indiana University Commit Bryce Taylor kicked 37-yard field goal in the first quarter as Duncan Combs threw three touchdowns after Taylor field goal to put the Panthers in control the rest of the way.
Edgewood was shut out for the first time since August 26, 2023, in a 28-0 loss to Washington. The Mustangs have been shutout 9 times since the 2020 season. Cascade led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter and scored 21 second quarter points heading into the locker room up 28-0 at half. The Cadets added two more scores in the second half as they lead 35-0 going into the fourth quarter and improve to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 1995. Edgewood has scored 3 points at home in the last two weeks and welcomes archrival Owen Valley into the Mustang Corral on Friday. Owen Valley lost to Indian Creek 42-0 Friday Night after being shut out the week before 47-0 to Speedway and dropping the season opener to Brown County 30-21.
Northern Illinois Stuns #5 Notre Dame Football in South Bend
Kanon Woodill hit a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds to play and Cade Haberman blocked a 62-yard try as time expired and Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 on Saturday. Haberman blocked the 62-yard attempt by Notre Dame’s Mitch Jeter, allowing the jubilant Huskies to claim their first nonconference victory against a ranked opponent since a 19-16 upset of No. 21 Alabama in 2003. Notre Dame (1-1), on the heels of an impressive road win over Texas A&M, looked like it was in position to get some separation from Northern Illinois (2-0) as it clung to a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish gained possession after a punt with 7:49 left and drove from their 25 to the Northern Illinois 49. Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard launched a pass deep up the middle intended for Kris Mitchell, but Amariyun Knighten made the interception and returned it 33 yards to the 50-yard line with 5:55 to play.
Knighten’s interception set up the winning field goal from Woodill, his third of the day. Notre Dame struck first as Leonard side-stepped the defense for an 11-yard touchdown run with 8:28 left in the first quarter. It only took five plays for Northern Illinois to answer as Antario Brown broke loose between two Notre Dame defensive backs for an 83-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Ethan Hampton. A pair of field goals by Woodill from 42 and 21 yards gave the Huskies a 13-7 halftime lead. Notre Dame had the chance to make it 13-10 before half, but Haberman blocked a 48-yard try from Jeter. Woodill missed a 53-yard field goal attempt on the first possession of the second half, and Notre Dame took advantage. Jeremiyah Love broke loose for a 34-yard touchdown run, hurdling a defender on the way to the end zone. Mitch Jeter’s extra point gave Notre Dame a 14-13 lead with 8:34 left in the third quarter. Notre Dame Travels to West Lafayette to take on in-state rival Purdue on Saturday.
Minnesota Lynx Snap the Indiana Fever’s Five Game Winning Streak
On Friday night in a battle of two teams surging in the second half of the season, the Indiana Fever (18-17) fell short, 99-88, to the Minnesota Lynx at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. After recording a five-game winning streak and winning seven of its last eight games. Friday night marked the second time this season that guards Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, along with center Aliyah Boston all scored at least 20 points in a game for Indiana. Clark finished with 25 points, a game-high five made 3-point field goals, eight rebounds and eight assists. Clark notched the most games recorded with at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in a single season in WNBA history with 13. Clark accomplished another franchise milestone with the most 3-point field goals made in a single season in franchise history on Friday night. Clark enters Sunday afternoon with 107 made from beyond the arc. Mitchell added 23 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range and 5-of-5 shooting from the free throw line. Mitchell has now scored at least 20 points in 10 of her last 12 games played. Boston recorded 20 points on 9-of-15 field goal shooting, which put her past Natalie Williams for 18th on the Fever career points list with 1,063. Boston also pulled down five rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot. Fever guard Lexie Hull finished with a career-high nine rebounds, six of which came from the first quarter alone, to go along with eight points, three assists and two steals. Former Indiana University Star Grace Berger did not play.
Indiana used an 18-7 run at the end of the first quarter, with Boston and Mitchell each scoring eight points each as the Fever led, 27-19, entering the second quarter. After Clark opened up the second quarter with a 3-point field goal, Minnesota went on a 17-7 run for more than three minutes. Fever guard Erica Wheeler then made a layup and 3-point field goal back-to-back to put Indiana up, 37-33 with roughly six minutes remaining. Clark recorded 17 points going into the half, her highest scoring first half this season, and Indiana went on a 13-5 run to lead Minnesota, 50-45, at the break. Indiana outscored Minnesota in fast break points, 17-6, and in the first and final quarters, but ultimately could not overcome the Lynx’s 29-point effort in the third quarter. Minnesota (25-9) has now won nine of its last 10 games after Lynx forward Napheesa Collier scored a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds, her 16th double-double of the season. Lynx forward Bridget Carleton followed with 16 points, nine of which came from the final quarter, to go along with four rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot. Lynx guard Courtney Williams and forward Alanna Smith recorded 15 and 13 points, respectively, and combined for 10 rebounds and nine assists in the win. The Lynx outscored the Fever in bench points, 26-10, and outrebounded Indiana, 37-36.
Indiana University Volleyball drops two Matches in Austin Texas
On the night that No. 1-ranked Texas unveiled its 2023 National Championship banner, the back-to-back defending national champions made life difficult on visiting Indiana (3-1, 0-0). The Longhorns hit .385 (40-10-78) on the evening while rattling off big comeback rallies in games two and three. The Hoosiers had seven aces and five blocks but fell in straight sets (8-25, 21-25, 22-25) at Gregory Gym on Thursday evening. This was the 15th all-time meeting against the top-ranked team in program history. IU moves to 0-15 in such contests, playing four of those games in the past five years. Head coach Steve Aird hasn’t shied away from testing his teams in the non-conference, playing four top 25 true road games – before Big Ten play – since taking the job. Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles led the way with six kills while junior opposite hitter and senior outside hitter Mady Saris each had five kills. Senior setter Camryn Haworth tallied 15 assists, passing 3,000 for her outstanding IU career. On the night, IU compiled seven aces. Senior Kenzie Daffine wearing the second libero jersey, racked up two with her lethal jump serve. Five other Hoosiers, including Haworth, had one. Junior middle blocker Madi Sell added a team-high three blocks.
In a match separated by just two total points, the Indiana Volleyball team (3-2, 0-0) fell just short to (RV) Miami (Fla.) on Friday night at Gregory Gym in Austin. The Hoosiers dominated game three but fell victim to a number of service errors down the stretch, falling in four sets (17-25, 23-25, 25-14, 22-25). IU responded from a bad offensive night against Texas to hit .265 on the evening including an outstanding .421 (10-2-19) in set three. Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles led the way with 13 kills while junior opposite hitter Avry Tatum was efficient on a .385 clip (12-2-26). Senior setter Camryn Haworth had 41 assists. With a better collective passing night from its back row, IU worked its middles into the offense more. Sophomore Ava Vickers made her first start of the season and tallied six kills. Junior Madi Sell had her best game of the season with six kills (.556) and a team-high six blocks. Miami held off a furious push from the Hoosiers in game four. IU had three service errors in the red zone, haltering any momentum its offense created. Eight service aces, including three from Tatum in the fourth set, helped keep the Hurricanes out of system at times. Miami outside hitter Flomarie Heredia Colon made a big impact with 18 kills on 34 swings (.353). IU gets some time off to practice before hitting the court Friday. The Hoosiers will host the Indiana Invitational against Chicago State, Southern Indiana and Ball State. Head coach Steve Aird and company will play a doubleheader on Friday at 12:00pm (Chicago State) and 7:00pm (Southern Indiana).