ROCKFORD, Ill. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College tied a school record with five rushing touchdowns en route to a commanding 48-3 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory over Rockford on Saturday at Sam Greeley Field. The win marked the Warriors' 18th straight over the Regents, including five straight scoring at least 48 points.
WLC (4-5, 4-3 NACC) stormed out to a 34-0 halftime lead behind a balanced offense and a stifling defense that limited RU (1-9, 0-8 NACC) to just 12 rushing yards and 91 total yards on the day.
Wisconsin Lutheran opened the scoring midway through the first quarter when sophomore
Liam Heiges (Appleton, Wis.) punched in a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a 47-yard drive. Later in the quarter, sophomore
Carson Koehler (Saginaw, Mich.) broke free for a 41-yard score to make it 14-0 after one.
In the second quarter, sophomore
Joshua Rico (Dallas, Texas) connected with senior
Drew Mears (Appleton, Wis.) for a 30-yard touchdown strike, before junior
Tywin McKinney (Milwaukee, Wis.) added a 1-yard score to stretch the margin to 27-0. Special teams contributed to the rout as sophomore
Jalen Perera (Milwaukee, Wis.) recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown late in the half.
After halftime, freshman
Kaden Henry's (Wasilla, Alaska) 9-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 41-0 in the third quarter. Rockford avoided the shutout with a 26-yard field goal early in the fourth, but junior
Elijah Edwards (Merritt Island, Fla.) capped the Warriors' scoring with a 1-yard plunge for the 48-3 final. Both third quarter scores for WLC were the first of the respective players' careers.
Wisconsin Lutheran outgained the Regents 370-91, including a season-high 239 rushing yards. Koehler led the Warriors with 129 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while McKinney, Heiges, Henry, and Edwards also found the end zone. Rico completed 9 of 15 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, with Mears hauling in five receptions for 78 yards and a score.
Defensively, senior
Layson Handwork (Merritt Island, Fla.) paced WLC with seven tackles, including 2.5 for loss, while freshman
Bryce Brooks (Clarksville, Tenn.) added a one of the team's three sacks. Wisconsin Lutheran's defense held RU to 0.5 yards per rush and forced 10 tackles for loss.
For Rockford, quarterback Gage Hugart threw for 75 yards, while Kemaurion Richardson led the team with 19 rushing yards. Timothy Bearden caught 10 passes for 40 yards, and Joey Alvarez recorded a game-high 21 tackles.
The Warriors close their 2025 season next Saturday when they travel to Benedictine (7-2, 5-2 NACC). Kickoff in Lisle, Illinois, is set for 1 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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