Wheaton, Ill. (10/28) – The Wheaton football team earned a convincing 34-0 victory  against Elmhurst College on Saturday afternoon at home. Today's win marked Wheaton's first shutout since the Thunder blanked North Park 52-0 last year and was the first time Elmhurst has been shut out by an opponent since 2002.

Wheaton, ranked 23rd in the most recent American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Coaches Poll, is now 7-1 on the season and 4-1 in the CCIW. Today's Thunder victory combined with a North Central victory against Augustana on Saturday now means that Wheaton, Augustana and North Central are in a first-place tie in the CCIW standings with identical 4-1 records, with two weeks left in the season. Elmhurst is 5-3 on the year, with a 2-3 conference record.

Wheaton jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 4:18 left in the first quarter when quarterback Jeremy Chupp threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to his twin brother Joe Chupp. The touchdown toss capped a lengthy 14-play drive of 90 yards that saw Joe and Jeremy Chupp connect on four passes for 61 yards. With 1:00 remaining in the first half Jeremy Chupp connected with receiver Chris Fossum who rambled through the Bluejays' defense for a 37-yard touchdown catch to increase Wheaton 's lead to 14-0, an edge the hosts would hold at halftime.

Tailback Andrew Hershey scored on a seven-yard touchdown run with 44-seconds left in the third quarter to increase the Thunder lead to 20-0. Hershey's trip to the end zone capped an 85-yard drive that lasted 18 plays and was started when Wheaton cornerback Pete Ittersagen  tipped an Elmhurst pass and safety Kirk McKenney intercepted it at the Thunder 15-yard line to stall a potential Elmhurst scoring threat. Hershey reached the end zone on a 16-yard touchdown run with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter to increase the hosts lead to 27-0. Thunder senior cornerback Tim March accounted for the 34-0 final score when he ran back a 64-yard interception return with 6:57 remaining in the game.

Wheaton tallied 382 yards of total offense, with 234 passing yards and 148 rushing yards. Elmhurst recorded 235 yards of offense, with 156 passing yards and just 79 rushing yards.

Jeremy Chupp completed 14 of his 26 passing attempts for 193 yards, with two touchdowns and ran for 23 yards on eight carries. Zach Ullrich was three-for-seven, with 41 passing yards. Joe Chupp caught six passes for 80 yards, with one touchdown grab and Fossum caught five passes for 105 yards, with one touchdown. Hershey ran the ball 22 times for 92 yards, with two touchdown runs.

Linebacker Steve Pagh and March each recorded six tackles, as Pagh recorded two tackles for lost yardage and March added the 64-yard interception return. Mike McKinney and Andy Studebaker each made five total tackles. Studebaker added three tackles for lost yardage (-12 yards), including one quarterback sack (-6 yards) and two pass deflections.

Elmhurst quarterback Mike LaFleur completed 16 of his 33 passing attempts for 156 yards and ran for 16 yards on six carries. Bluejays' running back Jeremy Rivers carried the ball six times for 61 yards. Michael Cooley caught six passes for 50 yards. Ward Brady led the Elmhurst defense with 15 total tackles, with one interception. Kyle Maple recorded 13 tackles and John Scardullo made nine tackles with one interception.