BLUEJAY FOOTBALL TEAM HOLDS OFF LATE CHARGE FROM CHICAGO TO IMPROVE TO 3-0

Boxscore      

ELMHURST, Ill. September 18, 2004 -- The Elmhurst College football team held off a late rally from the University of Chicago to win 38-27 and improve to 3-0 on the season.

It was another record setting day for the Bluejays as quarterback Dom Demma (Carol Stream-Glenbard North) tied his own school record with five touchdown passes and moved into second place on the school's all-time passing yardage list.

The Bluejays led by as many as 18 points late in the fourth quarter, but two Chicago scores less than a minute apart made the game interesting down the stretch.

For the first time this season the Bluejays found themselves trailing in a game when Chicago took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter on a Phil Marion 37-yard touchdown pass to Tom Guardi.

The Maroons did an effective job of keeping the Bluejay offense off the field for the majority of the first quarter, controlling the clock and limiting the Elmhurst offense. The Bluejays got rolling in the second quarter by ripping off four unanswered scores to take a 25-7 halftime lead.

Demma started the scoring by hitting Todd Evans (Carol Stream-Glenbard North) from 19 yards out to cap an eight play, 64-yard drive. The extra point was blocked and the Bluejays still trailed 7-6.

After a missed Chicago field goal, the Bluejays promptly marched down field 80 yards in just five plays capped off by a fantastic one-handed catch by Evans as he managed to stay in the end zone. The two-point conversion failed, but the Bluejays led 12-7, a lead they would never relinquish.

Elmhurst's defense responded on the next series with back-to-back sacks of Marion to force Chicago to punt. On a third down from their own 40-yard line, Demma found Evans over the middle who sprung free and took it to the endzone for the 60-yard score. The extra point put Elmhurst up 19-7 with 1:10 to play in the half.

Chicago moved quickly to their own 43-yard line on the next series. The drive was snuffed out by the Bluejays when Patrick Ambriz (Wausau, Wis.-East), making his first start at defensive back, picked off Marino and returned it to the Chicago 14-yard line with just 47 seconds to play in the half.

After a holding penalty on Elmhurst, Demma wasted little time putting the Bluejays back on the scoreboard as he hooked up with Terence Young (Chicago-DeLaSalle) from 24-yards out to give Elmhurst a 25-7 advantage at halftime.

Chicago cut the lead to 25-14 in the third quarter after Marion hooked up with Guardi again, this time from 34 yards out, for a touchdown.

The two teams' defenses held each other at bay for the rest of the third quarter until Elmhurst came up with a quick strike. The Bluejays, who had not reached a first down in the third quarter yet, faced a third down at their own 37-yard line. Demma dumped off a short screen pass to Eric Luna (Wadsworth-Carmel). Luna shook a defender and used a key block to spring free to the outside where he scampered 63 yards to the end zone. The extra point gave Elmhurst a 32-14 advantage.

Chicago tried to answer back but the drive was killed when Marino was picked of by Kyle Grimes (Winthrop Harbor-Zion Benton) at the Elmhurst 20-yard line. Although the Bluejays couldn't do anything with the ball offensively and were forced to punt, their defense came up big again as Amrbiz picked off a Marino pass at the Elmhurst 25-yard line. Elmhurst drove down to the Chicago 18-yard line but failed to convert on fourth and one.

Reserve Chicago quarterback Marc Zera took over the Maroons' offense and drove Chicago 82 yards in 10 plays resulting in a a 16-yard touchdown pass to Micah Dawson. The extra point cut the lead to 32-21 with 2:43 to play. .

Although the onside kick failed, the Maroons caught a break when Luna was stripped of the ball and Chicago recovered at their own 37-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage, Zera dumped off a pass to Dawson who used two blocks to get to the outside and sprint 63 yards to the end zone to bring Chicago to within five points at 32-27 with 2:14 to play.

The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds and Elmhurst took over at their own 35-yard line. After two plays, the Bluejays faced a third-and-five at their own 40. Demma handed off to Young on an end around run. Young was hit in the backfield but bounced away from his tacklers. He caught a block to the outside and sprinted 60 yards to the end zone for the game-clinching score, giving Elmhurst the 39-27 win.

Offensively, it was another record setting day for the Bluejays. Demma equaled his own record of five touchdown passes in one game. Ironically, he last threw five touchdowns in a game against Chicago in 2002 at Langhorst Field. He finished the day 21-of-29 for 327 yards and the five touchdowns. He is yet to throw an interception on the season.

Evans equaled a school record by catching three touchdown passes. The record was set in 1980 by Paul Jaeckel. Evans finished the day with six catches for 120 yards and the three touchdowns.

Luna totaled 216 yards for the day. He rushed 28 times for 111 yards and caught five passes for 105 yards.

Defensively, Benitez Brown (Sparta-H.S.) led the way with 12 tackles, including eight solo stops. He also had an interception. David Socarras (Miami, Fla.-Christian) tallied 11 tackles, including a sack while also forcing a fumble. Jared Hagar (Bolingbrook-Romeoville) recorded 10 tackles before he was forced to leave the game with an unspecified leg injury. Amrbiz and Grimes each finished the day with two interceptions.

Much like in 2002, when the teams combined for almost 1,100 yards of total offense, both offenses were able to move the ball. Elmhurst and Chicago totaled 977 yards of total offense. Elmhurst rang up 495 yards on 64 plays while Chicago finished with 482 yards on 87 plays. The difference in the offensive output was turnovers. Elmhurst turned the ball over just once, while Chicago committed six turnovers in the game.

Elmhurst will have next weekend off before opening CCIW play at Illinois Wesleyan on October 2.