Football Results: Oct. 13
WARSAW JV 26, CONCORD 20
Warsaw finished the JV football season in style, beating Concord in Dunlap.
Aaron Greene rushed for two touchdowns, and Jacob Hawn and Patrick Zollinger both added rushing scores for the Tigers.
Zollinger also had an interception and led the Tiger defense along with Zac DeFord and Patrick Davenport on several stops.
Warsaw wraps up its JV season 6-3 overall and 5-1 in Northern Lakes Conference play.
TRITON JUNIOR HIGH 34, WINAMAC 14
The Trojan undercard went 7-2 on the season after the win over Winamac Saturday morning. Game stats were not immediately provided.
IOWA 42, INDIANA 16
Nate Stanley threw for 320 yards and a season-high six touchdowns, and the Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Indiana Hoosiers 42-16 in Big Ten action on Saturday.
Stanley connected with nine different wide receivers, completing 21 of 33 throws in a game where he was only sacked once.
Indiana’s opening drive looked promising, as the Hoosiers took the ball deep into Hawkeye territory, but the Iowa defense doubled down in the red zone and held the Hoosiers to a field goal, setting the tone for what would become an abysmal day on offense for Indiana. On the ensuing drive, Stanley threw an interception, but a pass interference call negated the turnover, setting up a 9-yard touchdown pass to TJ Hockenson.
Stanley relied on his tight ends heavily, connecting with Noah Fant and Hockenson for eight of his 21 completions. The two tight ends accounted for 208 of Stanley’s 320 passing yards, with Fant finishing the game with 101 yards and Hockenson totaling 107 yards.
Indiana was trailing 14-3 when Stanley made his only mistake of the day, an errant pass right in the direction of Hoosiers defender Thomas Allen, who set Indiana up in Iowa territory following his interception. On the next play of the game, Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey found Ty Fryfogle in the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown that made it a 14-10 Iowa lead. Ramsey finished with one touchdown and two interceptions, completing 31 of 42 pass attempts for 263 yards.
But Iowa’s offense was too much for the Hoosiers thanks to the Hawkeyes’ passing attack. The Hawkeyes went into the half with a 21-10 lead and never looked back, spoiling Indiana’s homecoming weekend.
The Hoosiers will have their work cut out for them during the second half of the season. Indiana needs two more wins to become bowl eligible. Indiana’s remaining six games features contests against No.8 Penn State and No.12 Michigan.
PURDUE 46, ILLINOIS 7
Purdue rolled over Illinois 46-7 on Saturday, dampening the Illini homecoming festivities and dimming their postseason hopes.
Illinois (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) arguably played its worst game of the year. Purdue (3-3, 2-1) scored 46 unanswered points after the first series. Illinois began the game scoring on a five-yard keeper by quarterback AJ Bush following a 52-yard pass to Reggie Corbin.
Purdue racked up 611 yards in total offense compared to Illinois’ 250. The Illini, which led the Big Ten in takeaways and ranked sixth in the nation in turnovers gained per game, forced its only turnover late in the third quarter when Cameron Watkins tipped a David Blough pass and it was intercepted by Sydney Brown. Illinois was unable to capitalize on the interception.
Purdue sacked Bush four times and pressured him all game.
“The great thing is as coaches we’ve gotten better at attacking and being aggressive and taking some chances.” Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm said. “It helped us get a lead and take Illinois out of its game.”
D. J. Knox gained 150 yards rushing on 17 carries for the Boilermakers. Markell Jones had seven carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Alexander Horvath also scored a touchdown. Purdue amassed 227 yards rushing, compared to 69 for Illinois.
Isaac Zico and Rondale Moore combined to catch nine passes for 228 yards for the Boilermakers.
Bush finished 12 of 25 for 170 yards passing and one interception. Bush also was the Illini’s leading rusher, gaining 24 yards on 20 carries. Illinois kicker Chase McLaughlin, who leads the nation in field goals of 50-plus yards going into the game, missed a 38-yard attempt midway through the second quarter that would have drawn Illinois to within four points.
“You have to give Purdue credit,” Illinois head coach Lovie Smith said. “We would have liked to run the ball and we couldn’t. We couldn’t establish drives and it hurts the running game when you only have the ball for short periods of time.”
Blough finished the day 25-of-36 passing for 377 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught a seven-yard touchdown pass on a reverse from wide receiver (and former quarterback) Jared Sparks. It was Sparks’ first career touchdown pass.
Purdue won the Cannon trophy for the 11th time in the last 14 matchups and now leads the Cannon series 36-29-2. The all-time series between Purdue and Illinois, which dates to 1890, is even-steven at 44-44-6.
Purdue’s 39-point win was the largest margin of victory since 2012 when it beat Eastern Kentucky 48-6. Against an FBS opponent, Saturday’s point margin was the largest since Purdue defeated Indiana 62-10 on Nov. 22, 2008. And it was the largest in a Big Ten road game since a 56-7 victory at Indiana on Nov. 22, 1997.
NOTRE DAME 19, PITTSBURGH 14
Wide receiver Miles Boykin had a message for quarterback Ian Book after No. 5 Notre Dame remained unbeaten, coming from behind and then holding off Pittsburgh.
“I told him winning is fun, but let’s not win like this again,” the 6-foot-4 Boykin said after he caught the game-winning, 35-yard touchdown pass from Book with 5:43 remaining in the fourth quarter Saturday to secure the 19-14 win.
The Book-to-Boykin combination is beginning to etch itself in Notre Dame lore. They have had memorable moments before, including the 55-yard touchdown with 1:28 in the Citrus Bowl last Jan. 1 that provided the Irish with a 21-17 victory over LSU.
Their latest TD combo helped to improve the Irish to 7-0 for the first time since 2012, the year they went to the BCS title game for coach Brian Kelly, who was feeling a little better after the Irish held off the upset bid by the Panthers (3-4).
“Proud of our guys and their grit — they hung in there and found a way to win,” Kelly said. “We were not sharp mentally, we didn’t execute efficiently. They weren’t at their best and Pittsburgh played well. We still found a way.”
Pitt led 14-12 thanks to a long first-quarter touchdown drive and a 99-yard kickoff return by Maurice French to start the second half.
“I didn’t even see (Book) throw it,” Boykin said after finishing with four receptions for 84 yards. “I just saw the ball up there and thought I have to catch up to this. It was a dime. (Ian’s) a baller. He’s always calm and poised.”
As far as Book is concerned, it’s mutual admiration.
“(Miles is) really rangy, so I just got to put it up there and give him a chance,” Book said. “Day in and day out, he works so hard. I think our chemistry is starting to come along a little bit.”
Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers were looking to upset a top-five team for the third straight season after knocking off No. 3 Clemson in Death Valley during the 2016 season and No. 2 Miami last November in Pittsburgh.
“I feel bad for our kids in the locker room,” Narduzzi said. “I’m disappointed for them. They fought their tails off. We were ahead almost the entire game. Sometimes you can’t control what you can’t control. We went toe-to-toe with a top-five team and we didn’t pull it off in the end.”
Kenny Pickett was 19 for 28 for 126 yards, and was sacked by Khalid Kareem — Notre Dame’s only sack of the game — for a loss of 14 yards on Pitt’s final possession to set up a fourth-and-long the Panthers could not convert. Pitt also ran a strange faked punt, inserting third-string quarterback Jeff George Jr. as the punter and having him throw, on its second-to-last drive around midfield that failed.
“(Trying) to get a first down,” Narduzzi said. “That certainly wasn’t the game.”