PICTURED ABOVE: Senior Caleb Ashby tied for the team lead with 14 total tackles.

Belton, Texas - The Wheaton College football team lost a 38-16 matchup at top-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor (13-0) on Saturday to end Wheaton's 2016 season in the Quarterfinal round of the 2016 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs. Wheaton ends the season 11-2, advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the third time in program history. Mary Hardin-Baylor advances to face Mount Union next Saturday in a Semifinal matchup.

Wheaton tallied 306 yards of offense, passing for 284 yards, with 22 rushing yards. The Cru recorded 334 yards of offense, with 155 passing yards and 179 yards on the ground. Big plays by UMHB played a key role as the hosts returned an interception for a touchdown; the Cru blocked a Thunder punt and returned it for a score and the hosts scored on an 80-yard pass play. Thunder head coach Mike Swider noted after the game, "Our kids played hard and gave it everything they had. I am really proud of them. They did not back down from anything and they never conceded."

Thunder quarterback Johnny Peltz replaced an injured Andrew Bowers today. Peltz completed 28 of his 48 passing attempts with two touchdown tosses. Junior wide receiver Trey Hanley caught eight passes for 103 yards with two touchdown receptions. Chase White snagged seven catches for 59 yards.

Senior linebackers Caleb Ashby and Luke Sahly (PICTURED LEFT) each recorded 14 total tackles for the Thunder. Eric Stevenson registered nine total tackles and intercepted a pass. Jack Bates added six total tackles, including 1-1/2 tackles for loss (-2 yards). Noah Spielman  tallied five total tackles and Austin Hoover registered a tackle for lost yardage (-2 yards).

Ashby noted after the game, "This year was really fun. We had a lot new guys step up this year and it was a good way to go out. I have a lot of memories of this year and will take those with me."

Mary Hardin-Baylor quarterback Blake Jackson completed 11 of his 21 passing attempts for 155 yards, with one touchdown toss. Jackson also ran for a touchdown. Markeith Miller ran for 142 yards on 27 carries with one touchdown run. Reggie Wilson led the Cru defense with 15 total tackles. Baylor Mullins had seven tackles, with an interception. Raylon Hickey also recorded seven tackles with an interception return for a touchdown. Tevin Jones added an interception for the hosts.

Each team traded punts on their respective first drives of the game. The Cru punted on their second drive of the game to the Wheaton 11-yard line, but a UMHB penalty on the return pushed the ball to the Thunder 25-yard line. Wheaton pushed the ball on the drive with a pass to gain first down on third and three at the Thunder 33-yard, but the Cru stopped the Thunder offense on a third-and-one to stall the drive and force a Wheaton punt.

The Thunder defense responded with a three-and-out to force the third Cru punt of the opening quarter. Wheaton started the ensuing drive at its own 39-yard line Peltz and Hanley connected on a 21-yard pass for the opening play of the drive to put the ball at the hosts' 40-yard line. Three plays later, Sola Olateju gained six yards on third-and-five to extend the drive and push the ball to the UMHB 29-yard line. Stefan Knoerr capped the drive with a 42-yard field goal that gave the Thunder a 3-0 lead with 14:55 remaining in the second quarter.

Mary Hardin-Baylor pushed the ball to its own 45-yard line on the ensuing drive when Thunder linebacker Eric Stevenson intercepted Jackson's pass at the Thunder 46-yard line and returned it 11 yards to the Cru 43-yard line. The Thunder drive setup by Stevenson's interception was stalled as Zach Feddeler punted to the Cru eight-yard line for the hosts' next drive. The Wheaton defense stopped UMHB on the next drive as Wheaton started its next drive at its own 49-yard line.

The drive stalled on a Thunder interception as the Cru started their next drive at the Wheaton 34-yard line. Five plays later, Jackson reached the end zone on four-yard touchdown run to give UMHB a 7-3 lead with 7:56 remaining in the first half.  The ensuing Thunder drive ended on Wheaton's second interception of the half. The 12-play UMHB drive that followed concluded on a 20-yard field goal by Cru kicker John Mowery to give the hosts a 10-3 lead with 28-seconds remaining in the first half.

Wheaton received the opening kickoff of the second half and the Thunder were forced to punt on fourth down. The Wheaton punt was blocked and returned 35 yards for the Cru touchdown to extend the hosts lead to 17-3 with 13:50 remaining in the third quarter. Wheaton put together a lengthy drive on the following drive. Peltz's 27-yard pass to Phillip Nichols advanced the guests to the 50-yard line. Peltz connected with Hanley (PICTURED RIGHT) on a 15-yard touchdown pass, as Hanley fought his way into the end zone through a host of Cru defenders. The ensuing PAT attempt was blocked as UMHB led the Thunder 17-9 with 10:10 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cru punted the ball on their next drive and Wheaton regained the ball, however on the sixth play of the drive Raylon Hickey of UMHB intercepted a Wheaton pass and ran it into the end zone for a 24-9 Cru lead with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter. Nichols returned the ensuing kickoff 27 yards to the Thunder 32-yard line. Wheaton's balanced offense moved the ball downfield on the drive, culminating with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Peltz to Hanley. Wheaton converted the PAT kick as Mary Hardin-Baylor led 24-16 with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter. The Cru offense responded with a touchdown when Jackson connected with Bryce Wilkerson for an 80-yard touchdown pass to increase the hosts' lead to 31-16 with 1:37 remaining in the third quarter.

Miller accounted for the 38-16 final score when he reached the end zone a 37-yard touchdown run with 2:07 left in the game.

Wheaton wraps up the season with 11 victories for the third-consecutive season. It marks only the second time in program history that Wheaton has put together three-straight seasons of 10 or more victories. The Thunder won 11 games in the 2002 and 2004 seasons; and posted a 12-win season in 2003 for the other occurrence.