Wheaton, Ill. (11/18) – The Wheaton College football team advanced to the second round of the 2006 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs with a 42-28 victory against College of Mount St. Joseph in a first round game on Saturday at Wheaton's McCully Stadium. Wheaton will travel to Mount Union College next Saturday for a 12 PM (Eastern) kickoff. Mount Union advanced with a first round on victory on Saturday against Hope College. Wheaton is now 10-1 on the season, while Mount St. Joseph ends the year with a record of 9-2. Today's game marked Wheaton's fifth NCAA Playoff appearance, as the Thunder is now 5-0 all-time in first round games of the tournament.
Thunder quarterback Jeremy Chupp gave Wheaton a 7-0 lead with 53-seconds left in the first quarter when he scored on an eight-yard touchdown run. The Thunder lead increased to 14-0 with 6:26 left in the second quarter when Zach Ullrich reached the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run. Senior tailback Chaz Black increased Wheaton's lead to 21-0 with a two-yard trip into the end zone with 3:16 left in the first half. Chupp threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Noah Dreyer with 1:26 left in the first half to give Wheaton a 28-0 edge at halftime.
Wheaton's Pete Ittersagen returned a Lions' punt 79 yards for a touchdown to give the hosts a 35-0 lead with 4:25 left in the third quarter. Ittersagen noted of the return, “It started with good blocking. I tried to get up field a little bit. I saw a seam, I hit it, and it was just great blocking downfield. From there, I was able to use my speed.”
The Lions reached the scoreboard with 1:00 left in the third quarter when Evan Dreyer threw a 22-yard touchdown to Don Haggard for a 35-6 Wheaton lead. Jeremy Chupp reached the end zone on a 14-yard quarterback keeper to increase the Thunder advantage to 42-6 with 13:48 left in the game. Dreyer threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Cocanougher with 11:38 remaining in the game as the Lions' cut the Wheaton lead to 42-13. Mount St. Joseph touchdown runs by Evan Dreyer and Tim Kelly cut the Wheaton lead to the final score of 42-28.
Wheaton head coach Mike Swider said of the Lions' 28 second half points, “When you're in the playoffs and you're up by 28 and you know who your money players are, you have to have them healthy for the next round. Maybe we subbed a little early especially on defense early in the third quarter. When you do that, sometimes you lose some continuity. Mt. St. Joseph didn't quit. They kept playing, they kept competing. They just never gave in.”
Wheaton tailed 385 yards of total offense, with 193 passing yards and 192 rushing yards. The Lions recorded 390 yards of offense, passing for 304 yards, with just 86 yards on the ground.
Black led the Thunder offense with 22 carries for 137 yards, with one touchdown run. Noah Dreyer caught seven passes for 70 yards, with one touchdown. Chupp completed nine of his 15 passing attempts for 143 yards, with one touchdown and carried the ball eight times for 39 yards, with two touchdowns. Chupp said of the Thunder offense after the game, “We knew they (Mt. St. Joseph) were going to give us a cover 2 and cover 3 look. We needed to come out and execute. Overall, when we needed to do something, we got it done. The offensive line blocked well, the running backs and receivers played well. It was a good day.”
Wheaton linebacker Jonathan Toal tallied a team-high 12 total tackles. Ittersagen added eight tackles, with a fumble recovery and the punt return into the end zone. Safety Shane Woodward made eight tackles, including two for lost yardage, with a forced fumble and three passes broken-up. Defensive end Andy Studebaker made two tackles for lost yardage (-19 yards), including a quarterback sack (-19 yards). The sack gives the junior 17-1/2 on the season, tying him for Wheaton's single-season record in the category, with David Hoover who had 17-1/2 in 1995.
For the Lions, Evan Dreyer completed 15 of his 21 passing attempts for 240 yards, with two touchdowns. Cocanougher caught six passes for 113 yards, with one touchdown. Mike Jones caught five passes for 65 yards. Running back Mike Lovell carried the ball 14 times for 43 yards. Joel Steinmetz led the Lions' defense with 12 total tackles, and a forced fumble. Matt Lawless tallied seven tackles, with a fumble recovery. Mount St. Joseph head coach noted of his team following its third consecutive NCAA Playoff appearance, “We came here to win the game. They (Wheaton) had a short field early and got two quick scores on us. I'm proud as I can be of our program and the steps we're taking.”
