By Gannon Parker
The sixth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats return to Marion this week for their home opener against the unranked University of Saint Francis Indiana Cougars.
This will mark the sixth matchup between the two teams, with the Cougars winning the first two meetings and the Wildcats winning three straight after that. The Wildcats are coming off a 59-0 victory on the road against the Madonna Crusaders.
Wildcat’s head coach Andrew Rode said he was excited about the challenge the Cougars would bring.
“Our guys are excited for the challenge. Saint Francis is, historically, one of the best programs in the country, and it’s a very proud program,” Rode said. “It’s going to be a battle, and our guys are ready. Especially in a game that’s going to be under the lights and at our place, it should be a fun one.”
Fifth-year wide receiver Levi Tidwell said the team is focused and committed to taking the season one game at a time.
“If everybody steps up and does their job, we can have a lot of success. Saint Francis has a lot of talent and skill on the defensive side of the ball,” said Tidwell. “I think we have everything in the tool bag that we need. We have a high expectation of ourselves. It’s not about the opponent. They don’t beat us; we beat ourselves, so we need to be efficient.”
Senior linebacker Drake Deshetsky said the atmosphere in every home opener has been incredible and he hopes it to be a packed house on Saturday night.
“Wildcat stadium is already amazing as it is, with all of the students filling the stands but then to make it a night game, we hope even more people will show out for it,” Deshetsky said. “I think the atmosphere is going to make us play even better. Once the game against Madonna was over, we were already getting ready for Saint Francis, and they’re coming with bad intentions and we’ve got to be ready for them.”
Kickoff for the game is at 6 p.m. EST.
Abby Harvey 
Andrew Scalf