Rock Island, Ill. – The Wheaton football team returned to action on Saturday with a 37-14 victory at Augustana (3-7, 2-6 CCIW). Wheaton, ranked 12th in the D3football.com Top-25, improves to 8-1 on the season and 6-1 in CCIW play. The Thunder will conclude the regular season next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. when Carroll University visits McCully Stadium for "Senior Day".
The Thunder offense registered 458 yards of total offense on Saturday with 305 passing yards and 153 yards on the ground. Augustana passed for 297 yards on the day, but the Thunder defense held the Vikings to -12 rushing yards – thanks to six sacks for the Thunder defense that totaled -40 yards.
Thunder quarterback Andrew Bowers completed 17 of his 22 passing attempts for 237 yards with two touchdown tosses on the day. Johnny Peltz was 5-for-7 passing on the day, for 68 yards and one touchdown toss.
Trey Hanley caught six passes for 135 yards. Chase White also recorded six receptions for 67 yards. Sola Olateju led the Thunder ground game with 15 carries for 60 yards and one touchdown run.
Defensive end Chase Greenlee and linebacker Caleb Ashby each recorded seven total tackles to lead the Wheaton defense. Ashby registered two sacks (-13 yards) and Greenlee recorded one sack (-7 yards). Eric Stevenson made six total tackles and Nick Blazek and Marcus Smith each added five total tackles. Patrick O'Connell registered two sacks (-11 yards) in the game. Luke Sahly (-9 yards) and Austin Hoover (-4 yards) each had a sack for the Thunder.
Augustana quarterback Luke Bleyer was 17-of-30 on passing attempts for the game, with 227 passing yards. Andrew Garcia caught a game-high six passes 80 yards. Jack Asquini led the Vikings' defense with 11 total tackles, including two tackles for loss (-4 yards).
Wheaton took the opening kickoff and on the first offensive play of the game Bowers connected with Hanley for a 57-yard pass connection to advance the Thunder to the Augustana 18-yard line. Four plays later Wheaton reached the end zone on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Bowers to tight end Tyler Pace. Wheaton converted the PAT that followed for a 7-0 Wheaton lead with 13:03 remaining in the first quarter.
Wheaton put together a lengthy drive over the final minutes of the first quarter and the opening minutes of the second quarter. The 94-yard drive lasted 13 plays and culminated with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Bowers to White. Stefan Knoerr converted the PAT kick as Wheaton led the Vikings 14-0 with 12:58 remaining in the second quarter. The Thunder defense pinned Augustana' offense at the Vikings' two-yard line on the ensuing drive as the hosts were forced to punt at its own and the 23-yard punt allowed Wheaton to start its drive at the Augustana 25-yard line. Six plays after the punt, Knoerr converted a 28-yard field goal that gave the Thunder a 17-0 lead with 8:47 left in the second quarter. Wheaton maintained its 17-0 lead at the halftime intermission.The Vikings put together a lengthy 14-play drive of 84 yards to open the second half. Augustana's Bobby Jarosz ended the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to cut Wheaton's lead to 17-7 with 7:47 remaining in the third quarter. Bowers led a strong drive for Wheaton on the ensuing Thunder possession as he passed for 49 yards and added a 22-yard run. The drive culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Olateju. The PAT kick was wide as Olateju's touchdown increased the Thunder lead to 23-7 with 4:00 left in the third quarter.
Peltz connected with White in the fourth quarter on a 23-yard touchdown pass with 13:44 remaining in the game. White's second touchdown of the day increased Wheaton's lead to 30-7 and it ended a six play drive of 59 yards. Jackson Fain reached the end zone on a four-yard touchdown run that increased the Thunder lead to 37-7 with 2:40 remaining in the game. Fain's touchdown concluded a 14-play drive of 75 yards. Augustana countered with a nine-play drive of 70 yards in the closing minutes that concluded with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Zachary Fuller to Clayton Sommers. Sommers' touchdown accounted for the 37-14 final score.