The possession culminated in a 26-yard field goal by kicker Sean Ryniec with 1:10 left on the clock.
The sequence began at the 9:09 mark when North Central started at their own 23-yard line trailing late in the contest.
Wilson immediately connected with Jack Rummell for a 16-yard gain out of bounds to move the chains at the NCC39. After a 5-yard strike to Rummell and a 10-yard middle rush by Duke Guenther that pushed the visitors into Illinois Wesleyan territory at the IWU46, the offense hit a temporary roadblock.
Marcheon Griffin sacked Wilson for a bruising 12-yard loss back to the IWU48. Facing a daunting 2nd-and-22, Wilson chipped away with completions to Guenther and Rummell, eventually converting a critical 4th-and-8 with another 10-yard reception by Rummell to keep the drive alive.
Driving Deep Into Illinois Wesleyan Territory
With the chains moving again, Guenther and Zebulon Rashid chewed up yardage on the ground. Rashid plowed ahead for 9 yards on a 3rd-and-3 to set up a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line.
Illinois Wesleyan defenders Lucas Lappin, Alexander Jackson, and Joey DeMaio repeatedly contested the line of scrimmage, holding Guenther and Wilson to zero gain on subsequent plays. On 3rd-and-6 from the 6-yard line, John Gavin broke through to drop David Ballard III for a 3-yard loss, forcing a field goal try.
Sean Ryniec lined up for the 26-yard attempt with holder Chip Dose and long snapper Nate Boylan executing cleanly. Ryniec split the uprights to make the field goal good with the clock stopped at 01:10.
Following the successful score, Kaleb Stumpenhorst booted a 53-yard kickoff downfield. Tony Noto fielded the ball for Illinois Wesleyan, returning it 3 yards to the IWU15 where Joey Gliatta and Chase Osborne brought him down to stop the clock.
