Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
The Millikin football team defeated Aurora University 30-9 in the first night football game played at Millikin since 1928 on September 27 in Decatur, Illinois. The victory before a standing room only crowd highlighted the grand re-opening of the newly renovated Frank M. Lindsay Field with a new artificial turf surface, new lights and new video scoreboard.
Aurora opened the scoring late in the first quarter on a 27 yard pass from Curtis Townsend to Camerhan Guyton to make it 6-0.
Millikin took the lead on the very next play as Jowonis Edwards returned the Aurora kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-6 Big Blue.
The kickoff return was the first of several big plays by the Millikin special teams.
Millikin's Jake Gates blocked a Christian Chudoba punt on Aurora's next possession setting up the Big Blue offense at the Aurora six yard line. Millikin converted the opportunity into a 27 yard Chayce Volpert field goal to make it 10-6 Millikin.
Chudoba would convert on a 19 yard field goal to make it a 10-9 game with 3:53 left in the first half.
The Millikin special teams would strike again earlier in the third quarter when
Demetreeus Loper blocked another Aurora punt and Travis Goveia recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown making it 17-9 Big Blue.
The Millikin offense would put points on the board on its next possession with quarterback Nick Pippin hitting tight end Kyle Leadlove on an eight yard scoring strike.
The Millikin defense would join the scoring party at the end of third quarter when linebacker Nikia Averitte scooped up an errant Spartan pitch and raced 15 yards for Millikin's final score.
Pippin was 16-28 passing for 174 yards. Jacoby Sims topped the Big Blue rushers with 47 yards. Taylor Sanders was Millikin's top receiver with five catches for 73 yards.
Jake Apple led the Spartan offense with 139 yards rushing.
The Millikin defense had five players with seven tackles including Edwards, Averitte, Mykal Neal, Andy Roth and Goveia. Edwards also had three pass breakups. Roth had a fumble recovery and Mike Blakely had an interception.
Anthony Doory led Aurora with eight tackles including three tackles for a loss and one fumble recovery.
Millikin is now 2-1 on the season while Aurora goes to 0-3. The Big Blue open up CCIW play on October 4 with a 6 p.m. kickoff at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.