Football Wins Big on Homecoming

CHICAGO -- Junior wide receiver Dee Brizzolara (Aurora, Ohio/ Aurora) scored two of the Maroons' six touchdowns -- setting two school records in the process -- as the University of Chicago football team celebrated Homecoming with a 41-17 win over Kenyon College before a capacity crowd Saturday at Stagg Field.

Brizzolara's two touchdowns gave him 37 for his career and increased his lifetime scoring total to 224 points, both Chicago modern era records (since 1969).

Chicago (5-2) used some offensive trickery to build a 21-10 first quarter lead. The Maroons scored the game's first points on a 1-yard Brizzolara run off a double reverse.

After Kenyon answered with a 1-yard Brett Williams plunge to even the score at 7-7, senior tailback Francis Adarkwa (Wheaton, Ill./ Wheaton-Warrenville South) threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to junior quarterback Kevin Shelton (Hickory, N.C./ Hickory) to put the Maroons on top for good, 14-7.

Shelton pitched the ball to Adarkwa, who then stepped back and threw to a wide open Shelton for the touchdown. Adarkwa added a 1-yard touchdown run late in the opening stanza.

Chicago scored the only points of the second quarter on a 7-yard scoring strike from sophomore quarterback Vincent Cortina (Belmont, Mass./ Belmont) to Brizzolara (pictured) at the 3:20 mark.

On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, senior cornerback Emmett Carrier (Glen Ellyn, Ill. Benet Academy) picked off Kenyon quarterback Dan Shannon's pass and brought it 34 yards to the end zone for his second touchdown return of the year and third of his career.

Williams, who finished the day with 136 yards on 32 carries, scored Kenyon's (0-7) final touchdown from 5 yards out midway through the third quarter.

Chicago closed out the scoring on a 1-yard plunge by freshman running back Zak Ross-Nash (Allendale, N.J./ Northern Highlands) with 7:02 left in the game. Ross-Nash gained 82 yards on 17 carries on the afternoon, while Adarkwa rushed for 73 yards on 15 attempts.

The win was the Maroons' third in four home games this season and their ninth consecutive home win over an unranked opponent. Chicago also won for the 29th straight occasion at Stagg Field when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.

The Maroons kick off University Athletic Association play next Saturday when they travel to Cleveland to take on Case Western Reserve University.