Maroons Kick Off Season With 44-25 Win

CHICAGO -- Sophomore running back Ian Gaines (Flemington, N.J./ Hunterdon Central) and junior wide receiver Dee Brizzolara (Aurora, Ohio/ Aurora) combined to score five touchdowns as the University of Chicago football team opened its 2011 campaign with a 44-25 win over Beloit College Saturday night at Stagg Field.

Junior quarterback Kevin Shelton (Hickory, N.C./ Hickory) hooked up with Brizzolara on scoring plays of 12 and 32 yards midway through the first quarter as the Maroons took an early 14-0 lead. Beloit got on the board in the final minute of the period on a 53-yard pass from Brian Maughn to Brian Fayer.

The Maroons scored a pair of touchdowns early in the second stanza to go up 28-7. Senior running back Francis Adarkwa (Wheaton, Ill./ Wheaton-Warrenville South), who finished with 128 yards on 22 carries, scored on a 1-yard plunge before Gaines ran in from 9 yards out with 9:54 left in the half.

Beloit scored the final points of the first half on a 60-yard scoring strike from Maughn to Derek Carrier. Carrier caught eight passes for 160 yards on the night.

The teams traded field goals in the third quarter to make the score 31-17 in favor of the Maroons.

Gaines then scored on runs of 18 and 7 yards as Chicago sealed the win in the final period. He finished the game with 74 yards on only seven attempts.

A Maughn 4-yard run in the final minute capped the scoring.

En route to his first victory as a collegiate starter, Shelton completed 10 of 22 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. Maughn was 22 of 43 for 340 yards, two scores, and two picks.

Chicago extended its Stagg Field winning streak to seven games, one shy of the longest home winning streak of the Maroons' modern era (since 1969).

With its third straight opening day victory, Chicago improved to 13-5 in season debuts during Head Coach Dick Maloney's tenure.

The Maroons play their first road game of the season next Saturday when they travel to suburban River Forest to meet Concordia University Chicago.