Wheaton , Ill. - The Wheaton football team, ranked fifth in the current D3football.com Top-25 poll, shut out Augustana 40-0 on Saturday afternoon under rainy conditions at McCully Stadium. Wheaton remains undefeated on the season at 7-0 overall and 6-0 in CCIW play. Augustana is now 4-3 this season with a 3-3 record in conference play.

Wheaton totaled 341 yards of offense today, with 186 passing yards and 155 rushing yards. The Thunder defense held Augustana to just 115 yards of total offense. The Vikings ran for 39 yards and passed for 76. 

Ryan Schwartz led the Thunder defense in tackles with nine, including 1-1/2 tackles for lost yardage of nine yards. Dallas McRae (PICTURED LEFT) tallied eight total tackles, including 1-1/2 for loss (-7 yards). River Shindledecker recorded six total tackles, including 4-1/2 tackles for loss (-32) yards with 3-1/2 sacks (-31 yards). Patrick O'Connell and Corey Kennedy each registered six total tackles. 

Will Smith led the Thunder in rushing with 51 yards on 16 carries. T.J. Williams ran for 45 yards on eight carries. Jack Allen and Kyle Carter each scored rushing touchdowns for the Thunder. 

Quarterback Luke Anthony completed 12 of his 23 passing attempts for 186 yards with two touchdowns. Phillip Nichols caught six passes for 75 yards. Nichols became the seventh player in program history to surpass the 2,500 career receiving yards milestone in today's win. Adam Terrini had two receptions for 74 yards with one touchdown catch.

Wheaton scored on its third drive of the game as Griffin Bowes kicked a 35-yard field goal with 5:53 remaining in the first quarter. Bowes' kick was setup earlier in the drive on 20-yard and 11-yard runs by Williams to move Wheaton into the red zone. The Thunder led 3-0 a the end of the third quarter, thanks to Bowes' field goal (VIDEO). 

Early in the second quarter, Thunder punter Jon Bickle booted a 57-yard punt to the Augustana 12-yard line, forcing the Vikings to start the ensuing drive deep in their own territory. On the third play of the drive, Shindledecker's pass rush met Augustana quarterback Zachary Fuller who was forced into an intentional grounding penalty. The penalty came in the end zone and was a safety for the Thunder to increase Wheaton's lead to 5-0 with 11:55 remaining in the second quarter. Jeremiah Tucker scored on a two-yard touchdown run on Wheaton's next drive to extend the hosts' lead to 12-0 with 9:06 left in the first half (VIDEO). A quick strike on Wheaton's next drive resulted in a 57-yard touchdown pass from Anthony to Terrini (PICTURED RIGHT) to extend the Thunder advantage to 19-0 with 6:47 left in the second quarter (VIDEO). Wheaton's final score of the first half was a 32-yard touchdown pass from Anthony to Magnusson (VIDEO) with 3:16 remaining in the second quarter. Wheaton led the Vikings 26-0 at halftime.

Kyle Carter reached the end zone on a two-yard touchdown run with 11:19 remaining in the fourth quarter to increase Wheaton's lead to 33-0 (VIDEO). Jack Allen scampered into the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown run with 4:08 left in the fourth quarter to account for the 40-0 final score (VIDEO).

Wheaton travels to Carroll next Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff against the Pioneers in Waukesha, Wisconsin.