The Illinois Wesleyan University men’s football team picked up its first win of the 2025 season on Sept. 20, 2025, after a 42-6 annihilation of the Elmhurst University Bluejays in their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener at Tucci Stadium. The victory was head coach Jared Williamson’s first at the helm.
Junior quarterback Dermot Smyth had five passing touchdowns, the most by a Titan since Brandon Bauer did so in November of 2018. Smyth finished 14-for-20 for 251 yards.
Sophomore Will Nazha continued to be the Titans’ go-to receiver, with seven catches for a career-high 110 yards with two touchdowns. Sophomore GB Kruzick added two TDs on three catches.
The running back duo of junior Malik Gray and senior Danny Kent had IWU monopolizing the ground game with 233 rushing yards. Kent ran 14 times for 81 yards, while Gray matched his 81 yards on only six carries. Gray brought in two touchdowns–one receiving and one rushing.
Defensively, the Titans dominated. IWU did not give up an offensive score, with the only Bluejay points coming from an ill-timed throw from Smyth leading to a pick-six early in the first quarter.
Junior Ian Whitaker led the Titans with eight tackles, including one for loss, while sophomore Sebastian Thomas added six. Sophomore Clint Teater also had his first career interception in the fourth quarter.
The Titans finished with a time of possession advantage of over eight minutes, fueled by their six third-down conversions and two fourth-down conversions.
Elmhurst started with the ball, with the Titans allowing a 14-yard reception on the first play. But senior Mo Khalil combined with junior Joey DeMaio to get a stop on second down that would lead to an Elmhurst punt.
Taking over within their own 15, IWU saw their second play get taken to the crib for a pick-six. But before Elmhurst could feel too good about themselves, Whitaker broke the line and blocked their PAT.
On their next offensive attempt, the Titans would get stalled in the end zone on a fourth-down stop to once again turn the ball over. Adding insult to injury, a weather delay forced the Titans to sit for 30 long minutes thinking about their slow start to the game.
When they finally retook the field, it didn’t look like the Titans reflecting did them any good.
The Bluejays began marching down the field in an electric 12-play, 72-yard drive. Staring down a first and goal, the Titans defense had to get busy before Elmhurst could take a two-possession lead. Junior Marcheon Griffin–who was raised in Elmhurst, Ill.–started by forcing an incompletion.
Then on fourth down, the Bluejays were stuffed by DeMaio and junior Ryan Umbarger, putting the ball back in Titan control. After three rush attempts by Kent, IWU was halted and facing a fourth-and-long from its own 31-yard line.
What seemed like a normal punt attempt was then an apparent errant snap as sophomore Matt Worthington leaped into the air to try to rescue the play.
By the time the Bluejays met him, they had already been carved up for 28 yards by Umbarger–a risky but very successful trick play call.
From then on, the Bluejays never stood a chance.
The Titans capped off the drive with Smyth’s first touchdown–or at least, the first to a Titan–of the day. They scored another two times before halftime, both by Nazha, one being a 54-yard touchdown reception and the other a 14-yarder.
Leading 21-6 at the half, the Titans would start leaning on their powerful duo of Kent and Gray to put the Bluejays down. Smyth connected with Gray on a screen pass for 47 yards to give him his first touchdown of the second half.
Two more touchdowns–an eight-yard touchdown pass to Kruzick and a 59-yard rushing score from Gray–and some more weather delays were the only pieces of note in a thrilling second half.
Illinois Wesleyan will hit the road for another CCIW matchup against WashU on October 4 before coming home for action at Tucci Stadium against the Wheaton Thunder on October 11.
