Elmhurst, Ill. – The Wheaton football team, ranked 13th in both Division III polls this week, took to the road for a CCIW contest at Elmhurst (1-4, 0-4 CCIW). The Thunder defeated the Bluejays 61-6 to improve to 4-1 on the season and 3-1 in CCIW play.
Wheaton racked up 485 yards of offense tonight as the Thunder ran for 241 yards and passed for 244. Elmhurst had 168 yards of total offense, passing for 140 yards and rushing for just 28 as they were stymied by the Thunder defense all evening.
Wheaton's All-American running back, Giovanni Weeks had two touchdown runs tonight to set Wheaton's career rushing touchdown record at 46. He broke a 74-year old record of 45 career rushing touchdowns by Chuck Schoenherr (1946-49). Weeks ran for 84 yards tonight on seven carries as he averaged an impressive 12.0 yards per carry.
Henry Brown was Wheaton's leading rusher with 104 yards on 11 carries and three touchdown runs. Receiver Ben Bonga caught four passes for 84 yards, with one touchdown catch. Seth Kortenhoeven also caught four passes, with 42 receiving yards and two touchdown catches. Jack Herrington caught three passes for 58 yards.
Starting quarterback Ben Thorson completed 10 of his 12 passing attempts (83.3%), for 145 yards through the air with two touchdown passes. Xaviere Jones relieved Thorson and was 8-of-15 passing, with 99 passing yards and one touchdown pass. Jones ran for 28 yards on two carries.
The Wheaton defense amassed eight tackles for loss (-18 yards) tonight. Caleb McClung led the Thunder defense with 10 total tackles, including one tackle for loss (-2 yards). Max Wilson and Max Smith each had five tackles. Johnny Eller and Luca Torti each recorded four total tackles. Eller had a 12-yard interception return and Torti had one tackle for loss (-2 yards). Dimitri Cannon had a forced fumble and a 13-yard interception return.
The Thunder scored four touchdowns in the first quarter as the guests led 27-0 after one quarter of play. Weeks had rushing touchdowns of 15 and four yards in the first quarter. Wheaton's first touchdown of its nine tonight was a 20-yard touchdown reception from Thorson to Bonga. Wheaton's final score of the opening quarter was a 76-yard punt return by Kortenhoeven to give the guests a 27-0 lead.
Brown had touchdown runs of 14 yards and seven yards in the second quarter. Thorson threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Kortenhoeven in the quarter. Elmhurst's lone touchdown of the night came late in the second quarter on a five-yard touchdown pass. The Thunder led 48-6 at the halftime intermission.
Wheaton added two more scores in the third quarter. Kortenhoeven caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Jones. Brown tallied his third touchdown of the night on an eight-yard score with 8:05 remaining in the third to account for the 61-6 final score.
The Thunder host Carthage next Saturday night for "Community Night" at McCully Stadium. The contest against the Firebirds is a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.
Wheaton's first touchdown came on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to Bonga. Mateo Jesch converted the PAT to give Wheaton a 7-0 lead with 12:15 remaining in the first quarter. On the next Thunder drive, Weeks reached the end zone on a four-yard touchdown run to increase Wheaton's lead to 13-0 with 6:49 remaining in the opening quarter.