BOXSCORE

Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder football team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on Saturday night in a decisive 54-3 victory against Concordia (Wis.). Wheaton led 20-0 after one quarter of play and the hosts doubled their lead to 40-0 at halftime. Wheaton reached the end zone on its first four drives of the game.

Wheaton, ranked fourth in this week's D3football.com Top-25 poll, is now 2-0 on the year, the Falcons fall to 0-3 for the season. Wheaton will host Hope College on Saturday night at 7 PM.

The Thunder racked up 544 yards of total offense, passing for 311 yards, with 233 rushing yards. A stingy Wheaton defense held the Falcons' offense to just 125 yards, with only 30 ground yards and 95 passing yards.

Thunder quarterback Sean Norris completed 12 of his 19 passing attempts, for 240 yards, with four touchdown tosses. Norris also ran for a 22-yard touchdown score. Junior tailback Rocky Gingg carried the ball 15 times for 77 yards and sophomore Charlie Velling ran the ball 12 times for 66 yards, with two touchdown runs. Senior receiver Freddy Ellis carried the ball two times for 107 yards, with two touchdown catches. Senior tight end Mike Berttucci also caught two touchdown passes on his two receptions for 41 yards.

Linebacker Jordan Chapman led the Wheaton defense, with a team-high six total tackles, including a quarterback sack (-9 yards) and a forced fumble. Brian McMullen and Jon Sesso each recorded five total tackles, as McMullen made three tackles for lost yardage (-9 yards).

Concordia quarterback Thomas Pacchiloi completed 14 of his 24 passing attempts for 95 yards. Danny Kilps caught six passes for 65 yards. Zac Wielepski and Paul Metcalfe each recorded nine total tackles to lead the Concordia defense.

Wheaton's first score of the night was a 22-yard touchdown run by Norris for a 7-0 Thunder lead with 13:07 left in the opening quarter. The Thunder scored on the first play of the next drive, as Norris hit Ellis for a 95-yard touchdown pass to increase the Wheaton lead to 13-0, with 9:54 left in the first quarter. Wheaton's third score in the first quarter came with 1:25 left in the period when Norris threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Berttucci for a 20-0 Wheaton lead.

Charlie Velling scored his first collegiate touchdown on an eight-yard score, with 13:51 left in the second quarter to give the hosts a 27-0 lead. Norris again connected with Berttucci, this time on a 39-yard touchdown pass with 5:45 left in the first half to extend Wheaton's lead to 33-0. Norris threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Ellis with six-seconds left in the first half to account for Wheaton's 40-0 halftime lead.

Velling reached the end zone again, when he scored on a four-yard touchdown run with 6:23 remaining in the third quarter for a 47-0 Wheaton lead. Wheaton's final score of the game came with 2:21 left in the third quarter on a 23-yard touchdown pass from freshman Jordan Roberts to junior Charlie Antal. Concordia's lone points of the game came with 13:42 remaining in the contest when the Falcons booted a 40-yard field goal to account for the 54-3 final score.

PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE GAME
Photos are courtesy of Michael Hudson Photography - http://www.thunderphotos.com