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Illinois Shuts Out Western 44-0, Improves to 2-0

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Wes Lunt Illinois “We’ve given up three points in two weeks, I don’t care who you are playing,” said Coach Cubit.

Cubit has done it again this week leading his team to another incredible victory dominating Western Illinois, 44-0. The Fighting Illini have now scored an impressive 96 points in two weeks.

With just 10:05 on the clock in the first quarter, the Illini got on the board with a 31-yard field goal by Taylor Zalewski. Zalewski stayed consistent all day going  3-for-3 for Illinois.

Western faced issues pushing through the Illini defense and was unable to answer.With just 1:25 remaining on the clock Illinois scored again after senior Josh Ferguson took an incredible leap over the Leatherneck defense for a 1-yard touchdown. At the end of the first The Fighting Illini lead Western 10-0.

Heading into the second quarter, Illinois continued to pick up momentum and the Leathernecks still remained scoreless. Lunt connected with Tyler White for a 1-yard touchdown, Zalewski continued his perfect streak, and Marchie Murdock recovered a blocked punt and ran for a 12-yard touchdown putting Illinois at 30 and Western with zero at the half.

The defense controlled the game in the third quarter and neither team was able execute a scoring play. Mason Monheim and Clayton Fejedelum lead the Illini defense today both with seven tackles. Monheim commented on the success of the team thus far, and explained how they have managed to stay focused regardless of the chaos.

” This is a player driven team. We control our destiny, and we have a great group of guys. We see that common goal and we’re going to push towards it.” he said.

The fourth quarter began with a power start just three seconds in. Junior Running back Henry Enyenihi ran for a 1-yard touchdown completing the 67-yard drive for The Fighting Illini.

Redshirt freshman, Chace Crouch would later enter the game to replace Lunt. Lunt finished 33-of-46 for 316 yards and added one touchdown.

Crouch made a decent presence in today’s game finishing out strong with a five-yard touchdown pass to Marchie Murdock with 8:48 on the clock. Crouch ended at 5-of-8 for 37 yards with one touchdown.

“I thought he handled himself really well. He was really composed i thought today. He’s thinking and understanding what the system is,” said Cubit.

Illinois will head to North Carolina next weekend to take on the Tarheels. In preparation of next week Cubit has already begun communicating strategy to the players.

“One thing we’ve talked about is don’t flinch,” he said.

The Tarheels are 0-1  after just falling short to South Carolina 17-13. Even though Illinois has dominated the past two games, North Carolina will be a predictor for how the rest of the season could play out. The Tarheels are apart of the ACC which is a much stronger conference than the teams played previously.

With continued focus and preparation this team may have a more successful season than what was expected.


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