The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Case posts shutout in playoff opener
It was a miserable day weatherwise for much of the Midwest on Nov. 18, but that hardly mattered to the Case Western Reserve football team.
The No. 16-ranked Spartans went on the road in rainy and snowy conditions in Bloomington, Ill., and posted an impressive 28-0 win at No. 11 Illinois Wesleyan in an NCAA Division III playoff opener.
“The game went in a direction I don’t think anyone could have foreseen because of the conditions,” said Case coach and Mentor native Greg Debeljak in the postgame news conference. “We had to adapt and find something that worked. We could not throw the ball, and the receivers had a tough time catching it.”
The win sets up a second-round playoff game between Case (11-0) and No. 2-ranked Mount Union (11-0) in Alliance.
“They are the best (college) program since UCLA basketball in the 1960s,” said Debeljak. “What they’ve accomplished is incredible, and I was a young (assistant) coach at John Carroll when it started. It sounds corny, but for me, it’s like a dream come true to play them in the playoffs.”
The Purple Raiders opened the playoffs with a 21-0 win over Washington & Lee.
With conditions tough (it rained steadily in the first half, then turned to snow in the second), the Spartans got it done with their defense and a solid running game.
Aaron Aguilar replaced Case’s leading rusher Jacob Burke (out with injury) and led the way with 136 yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns.
But it was the defense that was stifling.
Illinois Wesleyan managed 185 yards on offense. That defense had two sacks, recovered a fumble and held the Titans (9-2) to 4 of 15 on third downs.
Defensively, senior linebacker Justin McMahon (Mentor) was Case’s leading tackler with eight stops, including six tackles.
“I thought we played physical, and we battled the whole game against a good team,” said McMahon. “We handled the weather really well. Anytime you can get a shutout, it’s awesome.”
Aguilar entered the game with 48 rushing yards for the season, but the Orange, Calif., native was the answer on offense for the Spartans, as he brushed aside the conditions.
“I’ve had some experience playing on bad grass fields in the rain back home, but it was nothing like this,” said Aguilar in the postgame news conference.
His 3-yard TD run late in the second quarter gave Case a 7-0 halftime lead.
“In a game like this, whoever scored first would have a big advantage,” said Debeljak. “From there, you play field position, punt the ball and put pressure on the other team.”
Aguilar’s 33-yard TD run made it 14-0 with eight minutes remaining in the third. He scored again early in the fourth quarter to make it 21-0.
“Aaron runs low to the ground, a low-pad guy, and that’s what we needed today,” said Debeljak. “He was the right guy for (these conditions).”
Myles Anthony’s 1-yard run with 3 minutes remaining made it 28-0.