GAME STATS MIKE SWIDER'S POSTGAME THOUGHTS
Kenosha, Wis. – The Wheaton football team earned a 28-0 win at Carthage College (1-4/0-2 CCIW) on Saturday afternoon to remain undefeated. The Thunder experienced a lightining delay for the second consecutive week. Today's game was delayed 35 minutes by lightning in the Kenosha area early in the second quarter. Wheaton's win at home against Augustana last week was delayed for approximately one hour and 20 minutes due to lighting in the area. Wheaton, ranked 13th in this week's D3football.com Top-25, improves to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the CCIW. The Thunder will host Elmhurst College next Saturday at 1 PM at McCully Stadium.
The Wheaton defense had a superb day against Carthage, holding the Red Men to just eight rushing yards on 17 attempts. Carthage totaled 256 yards in the game, with 248 passing yards and eight rushing yards. The Thunder defense held the hosts to just 63 yards of total offense in the first half of the game. Carthage was 2-of-13 on third-down conversion attempts for the afternoon. The Wheaton offense racked up 435 yards of offense, with 208 passing yards and 227 rushing yards.
Jesse Geary had a career day with 115 rushing yards, on 21 attempts, with three touchdowns to lead the Thunder offense. Geary was also Wheaton's leading receiver with seven catches for 57 yards. Quarterback
Jordan Roberts completed 21 of his 32 passing attempts for 191 yards, with one touchdown run.
Jackson Edwards (PICTURED LEFT) and
Adam Dansdill (PICTURED RIGHT) each recorded six total tackles for the Thunder defense. Dansdill included two tackles for lost yardage (-6 yards) in his effort and Edwards recorded one tackle for loss (-4 yards). Senior linebacker
Brett Anderson made five solo tackles and
Logan McRae made four solo stops, including two tackles for lost yardage (-19 yards).
Wheaton scored on its second drive of the game to cap a 12-play drive of 65 yards. The drive culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Geary to give Wheaton a 7-0 lead with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter.
The lightning delay occurred with 12:25 remaining in the second quarter and lasted 35 minutes. When play resumed Wheaton had the ball on fourth down at the Carthage 15-yardline and attempted a field goal that was left of the goal post. The Wheaton defense stymied Carthage on the next drive and the Thunder got the ball back at the Wheaton 25 with 9:27 remaining in the first half. The Thunder executed a 19-play drive that methodically moved the ball down the field for 75 yards, ending with a three-yard touchdown run by Geary with 1:19 remaining in the first half to give Wheaton a 14-0 lead.
Wheaton reached the end zone in the fourth quarter when Roberts (PICTURED LEFT) threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to
David Washko with 13:11 remaining in the game. Washko's touchdown capped an 11-play drive of 70 yards and gave Wheaton a 21-0 lead. The Thunder defense stalled the ensuing Carthage drive and Wheaton responded with a seven-play drive of 71 yards that concluded with Geary reaching the end zone on a 31-yard touchdown run. Geary's third score of the day gave Wheaton a 28-0 lead with 8:33 remaining in the fourth quarter.
NOTES & NUMBERS
-- Today marked the second time this season that the Thunder has shut out an opponent, joining a 66-0 win against Albion College on September 14. This is the first time that Wheaton has posted two shutouts in a season since 1996 when the squad had four shutouts (Aurora, Elmhurst, Millikin and North Park).
-- Today's victory marked the first time that Wheaton has shut out Carthage since the 'Orange and Blue' earned a 40-0 win against the Red Men in 1994.
-- The Thunder now holds a 38-12 advantage in the all-time series with Carthage, having won the last four meetings.
