Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton College football team, ranked 25th in this week's D3Football.com Top 25 Poll, earned a 48-7 victory against Washington University (Mo.) on Saturday afternoon at McCully Field. Wheaton improves to 2-0 with the non-conference victory, while the Bears fall to 2-1 on the season. The Thunder will travel to Hope College next Saturday for 12 PM (CDT) kickoff in Holland, Mich., while Washington will host North Central next Saturday night.
Wheaton tallied 441 yards of total offense, with 307 passing yards and 134 rushing yards. The Bears entered today's game ranked fifth in Division III in yards allowed per game, as they had held foes to an average of 85.5 yards per game in the season's previous two contests. Washington amassed 226 yards of offense, with 162 passing yards and 64 rushing yards. The Bears recorded 86 of the team's 226 yards on the final drive of the game.
Thunder senior quarterback Jeremy Chupp completed 19 of his 30 passing attempts for 228 yards, with five touchdown passes and one interception. Chupp also carried the ball five times for 40 yards. Junior Zach Ullrich was two-for-two with one touchdown for 79 yards. Junior wide receiver Noah Dreyer had a stellar game with nine catches for 98 yards and three touchdown grabs. Senior Chris Fossum caught four passes for 60 yards. Senior tailback Chaz Black carried the ball 15 times for 74 yards.
Sophomore linebacker Steve Pagh led the Thunder defense with eight total tackles, including four tackles for lost yardage (-6 yards) with a quarterback sack. Sophomore cornerback Pete Ittersagen made six solo tackles and he intercepted two passes for 44-return yards with an interception returned for a touchdown. Senior Jonathan Toal tallied six total tackles, while defensive end Andy Studebaker added three total tackles, with two quarterback sacks (-19 yards). Senior end Trey Andrew added 1-1/2 sacks for -14 yards. The Thunder defense put pressure on the Bears' offense all day as Wheaton recorded 11 tackles for lost yardage of 50 yards.
Bears' quarterback Pat McCarthy completed 10 of his 15 passing attempts for 113 yards with one touchdown. Nick Henry went 5-for-11, with 49 passing yards and he was sacked five times. DaRonne Jenkins carried the ball 14 times for 43 yards. Michael Casper was the Bears' top receiver with four catches for 60 yards with one touchdown. John Grit led the Washington defense with eight total tackles. Joe Shaughnessy and Mike Elliott each made six tackles and Bob Pine added an interception.
The Thunder offense methodically moved down the field in its opening drive, culminating in a five-yard touchdown pass from Chupp to Dreyer to cap an 80-yard drive that lasted 5:35 and 12 plays. Wheaton missed the PAT attempt that followed Dreyer's touchdown, as Wheaton held onto its 6-0 lead for the remainder of the first quarter and much of the second quarter. With 3:50 remaining in the first half the Thunder defense pinned the Bears deep into Wheaton territory, forcing Washington to punt as Wheaton received the ball at the 50-yard line. Chupp and Dreyer connected on a 23-yard pass on the second play of the drive and the duo connected for a 19-yard touchdown toss on the fourth play of the drive. Wheaton made a successful two-point conversion attempt to increase its lead to 14-0 with 2:02 left in the first half. Ittersagen snatched a Washington pass and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown to increase the hosts' lead to 21-0 with 1:28 left in the first half. The Thunder lead remained 21-0 at halftime with momentum on Wheaton 's side thanks to 14 points in the final 2:02 of the first half.
The Wheaton lead increased to 28-0 with 6:03 left in the third quarter when Chupp hit tight end Jordan Kemper for a three-yard touchdown pass to cap a lengthy 53-yard drive of 13 plays that lasted 6:01. With 3:25 remaining in the third quarter Ittersagen recorded his second interception and returned it 31 yards to the Bears' 15-yard-line. On the next play Chupp connected on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dreyer to increase the Thunder lead to 35-0 with 3:19 left in the third quarter. Wheaton's third touchdown of the third quarter came with 16-seconds left in the period when Chupp completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kirk Sundberg. With 7:49 left in the game Ullrich completed a screen pass to receiver Alex Pokorny and Pokorny broke free for a 63-yard scamper to the end zone to increase Wheaton's lead to 48-0. Washington reached the scoreboard when McCarthy hit Casper for a five-yard touchdown pass with 1:05 left in the game to account for the 48-7 final score.
