Memphis - It was a loud and energetic atmosphere at Crain Field Saturday night as Rhodes College football secured a 21-0 victory over Illinois College to open the 2018 campaign. The game against IC saw head coach Jim Ryan face his former team. Ryan was the defensive coordinator for the Blueboys in the early 2000's. It was also the debut game for offensive coordinator Brad Linares, an Illinois College alumna, and defensive coordinator Chris DiLella. The shutout is the first for the Lynx since Sept. 27, 2014 when Rhodes defeated Berry in Rome, Ga. (10-0). 

Rhodes' defense pushed the Blueboys to -17 yards rushing on the night, led by junior captain D'On Coofer who tallied three sacks. Coofer totaled 6.5 total tackles and 3.5 for a loss of 13 yards. Junior Trent Holt had two big sacks for a loss of 12 yards including a forced fumble. Senior Cody Stockton also tallied a sack and finished the game with five total tackles. All three Lynx recorded four solo tackles.

On the offensive side of the ball, Rhodes rushed for 170 yards, spread out over eight Lynx including three freshman. Dontae Gray averaged 4.5 yards on 10 carries. That included a 22-yard rush. The freshman also recorded the longest reception at 23 yards. Sophomore Morgan Koff recorded 53 yards on five receptions including a 21-yard reception up the middle of the field. 

Freshman Cameron Cluney made three punts for 131 yards, including two inside the 20. One of those rolled to the IC one-yard line. 

Rhodes finished the game with 350 offensive yards and held the Blueboys to 151 yards. Senior PJ Settles avoided getting sacked while the Lynx took down Drew Chance of Illinois College six times for a loss of 34 yards. Settles led Rhodes with an average of 5.8 yards rushing.

The Lynx are on the road next weekend in non-conference action. Rhodes will travel to Terre Haute, Ind. to take on Rose-Hulman at 7 p.m. ET on September 8th.