BLUEJAY FOOTBALL TEAM BLANKS CHICAGO 24-0:
Elmhurst records first shutout since 1998 season

Boxscore      

CHICAGO, Ill. September 20, 2003 -- After the University of Chicago scored 41 points in a win last week, the Elmhurst College football team knew that its defense was going to be put to the test to stop a formidable opponent. The Bluejays passed with flying colors, holding the Maroons to just 73 yards of total offense in Elmhurst's 24-0 win over Chicago on Saturday afternoon at Stagg Field.

Elmhurst recorded their first shutout win since October 10, 1998 when the Bluejays defeated North Central College 6-0. The shutout win also snapped Chicago's 54 game scoring streak. The Maroon's were last kept off the scoreboard in 1997.

"This was a great win for us," said Elmhurst Head Coach Paul Krohn. "We knew that we were going to have to stop a very-good Chicago offense, and our defense definitely rose to the occasion."

The game began on a high-note for the Bluejays' defense as Cedric Jones (Grand Prairie, Texas-Sam Houston) picked off a Tony Pulice pass at the Maroon 31-yard line on the third play of the game. Elmhurst capitalized immediately as Eric Luna (Wadsworth-Carmel) burst through a hole and scored a 31-yard touchdown on the Bluejays' first offensive play of the game.

The Bluejay defense dominated the Maroons for much of the first quarter, as constant pressure was applied to Pulice. The defense would create the only remaining score of the half, when Jason Gonzalez (Sunrise, Fla.-Piper) sacked Pulice in the end zone for an Elmhurst safety.

The remainder of the half turned into a defensive struggle, as neither team's offense was able to generate much momentum. Elmhurst ran 39 offensive plays for 129 yards, while the Maroons ran 37 plays for just 53 yards. Both teams held the ball for exactly 15 minutes of the 30-minute half.

Elmhurst strung together several drives in the third quarter, but couldn't add any additional points, as a drive was killed on an interception at the Chicago 5-yard line and a 37-yard field goal attempt from Dave Molinaro (Villa Park-Willowbrook) smacked off the left upright.

While the offense struggled to score, the Bluejays' defense continued to stymie the Maroons. Chicago's four third-quarter possessions resulted in an interception and negative seven yards of offense on 10 plays.

After the Bluejay defense forced a punt after a three-and-out late in the third quarter, Elmhurst's offense started rolling. The Bluejays marched downfield in six plays moving 46 yards in 1:43 to take a 16-0 lead behind a four-yard touchdown plunge from Luna.

The Bluejay defense continued to turn up the pressure on the Maroon offense, stopping Chicago on four consecutive plays and taking over on offense. Elmhurst marched to the Maroon 23-yard line before committing their first fumble of the day. After the Elmhurst fumble, the maroons promptly fumbled the snap and the Bluejays defense pounced on the loss ball. A Chicago penalty tacked on to the end of the play gave Elmhurst their best field position of the day at the Maroon 12-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Dom Demma (Carol Stream-Glenbard North) hit Juan Quesada (Miami, Fla.-Palmetto) on a 12-yard touchdown pass to put the Bluejays up 22-0. Demma hooked up with Quesada again for the two-point conversion to stake Elmhurst to a 24-0 lead.

The Maroons chances of putting points on the scoreboard were dashed when new quarterback Phil Marino was sacked by Matt Irps (Bourbonnais-Bradley-Bourbonnais) and fumbled the ball. Elmhurst scooped up the ball to preserve the shutout. Elmhurst's defense allowed Chicago just one first down and 20 yards of offense in the second half.

The Bluejays generated 318 yards of total offense and 18 first downs on 84 plays, while Chicago was limited to just 73 yards and four first downs on 60 plays. The Bluejays ran a perfect balanced attack, rushing and passing for 159 yards each. Chicago rushed for -16 yards and passed for 89 yards on the day.

Demma led the Bluejays through the air, finishing 18-of-35 for 148 yards and a touchdown. Luna carried 26 times for 89 yards and two touchdowns while John McMillian (Miami, Fla.-South Miami) rushed 16 times for 88 yards. Quesada proved to be Demma's favorite target, hauling in seven passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Pulice completed 9-of-26 passes for 53 yards and was intercepted twice. Jim Raptis caught five passes for 25 yards to lead Chicago receivers.

Defensively, Jared Hager (Bolingbrook-Romeoville) led the Bluejays with 11 tackles, including two tackles for loss. Gonzalez turned in a solid performance, finishing with seven tackles including four tackles for loss and two and a half quarterback sacks. Irps also totaled seven stops, including a sack.

Phillip Hayman led the Maroons with 13 tackles, while Nathan Hines finished with nine.

"Last year, we lost a very close game to Chicago," said Krohn. "I think the loss deflated our spirits a bit, so it was great to keep our momentum rolling with this win."

The Bluejays will open the home-portion of their schedule next Saturday (September 27) when they host Rockford College at 1:00 p.m.