Naperville, Ill. –Top-ranked North Central (3-0, 2-0 CCIW) defeated No. 11 Wheaton 33-20 on Saturday evening in the 2022 edition of the "Battle for the Little Brass Bell". Wheaton is now 2-2 on the season, with a 2-1 record in CCIW action. The Thunder return home next Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff against Elmhurst College as a part the Wheaton's Homecoming Weekend.
Wheaton quarterback
Will Bowers was 28-for-37 in his passing attempts, for 238 yards with two touchdown tosses. Bowers also ran for 27 yards on 10 carries.
Ben Bonga (PICTURED LEFT) caught each of the six passes thrown his way, for 58 yards with a 14-yard touchdown catch to his credit.
Tyler Gautier caught five passes for 75 receiving yards.
Thunder running back
Giovanni Weeks ran for 57 yards on 16 carries, with one touchdown run. Weeks also caught six passes for 25 yards, with one touchdown catch.
Defensive end
Brayden Anthony led the Thunder with 10 total tackles, including nine solo stops.
Sam Bell recorded eight tackles, including seven solos, and he registered a first-quarter interception. Defensive end
Caleb Kuhn made seven total tackles, including two tackles for loss (-8 yards). Included in Kuhn's tackles for loss was a four-yard quarterback sack. Linebacker
Clayton Reeves made six total tackles in the contest.
On the sixth play of the opening drive of the game, North Central quarterback Luke Lehnen threw an interception to Thunder safety
Sam Bell. Bell's pickoff gave the Thunder its first possession of the game, however the Wheaton offense went three-and-out. North Central reached the scoreboard with 5:12 remaining in the first quarter as running back Ethan Greefield scored on a 19-yard touchdown run to give the hosts a 7-0 lead with 5:12 left in the first quarter. The hosts also scored on their next drive of the game, capitalizing with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Lehnen to DeAngelo Hardy to give NCC a 14-0 lead with 3:56 remaining in the opening quarter.
North Central kicker Tanner Rains booted a 22-yard field goal with 3:35 left in the second quarter to extend the hosts' lead to 17-0. Rains kicked a 27-yard field as time expired to conclude the first half as the Cardinals led 20-0 at the halftime intermission.
Wheaton started the second half strong. The Thunder methodically moved the offense down the field in the guests' opening drive. Bowers had a 14-yard run down the middle of the field for a key first down on the drive. However, the drive stalled and ended with a Thunder punt. Thunder defense stood firm on the ensuing drive as the NCC offense had a three-and-out was force to kick a punt at the end of the drive. The Wheaton offense again had a strong showing on the next drive. The drive culminated with a five-yard touchdown pass from Bowers to Weeks. The PAT kick that followed was no good as Wheaton cut the Cardinals' lead to 20-7 with 4:36 left in the third quarter. A highlight to the drive was a 38-yard pass from Bowers to
Tyler Gautier that setup the touchdown pass just two plays later.
Wheaton scored to open the fourth quarter. Wheaton concluded an impressive 10-play drive of 70 yards with a seven-yard touchdown run by Weeks into the end zone. Wheaton converted the PAT kick after the run to cut North Central's lead to 20-13 with 13:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. One play before Weeks' touchdown, Bowers connected with tight end
Ben Juska on a 12-yard pass on fourth-and-two at the NCC 19-yard line to keep the Thunder drive alive.
North Central responded on its drive that followed the Weeks touchdown. Lehnen threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Rains and the Cardinals converted the PAT to gain a 26-13 lead with 9:48 remaining in the game. The Thunder offense had its own response as Wheaton put together a 10-play drive of 77 yards that culminated with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Bowers to a wide-open Bonga. Bonga's touchdown and the PAT kick cut the hosts' lead to 27-20 with 5:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.
North Central responded on its next drive. The big play on the Cardinals' drive was a 46-yard run by Ethan Greenfield that gave the hosts the ball at the Thunder six-yard line. Greenfield scored on a three-yard touchdown run to extend the NCC lead to 33-20 with 3:02 remaining in the game. Wheaton had one final offensive drive in the game. However, the drive stalled at midifield and the Thunder turned the ball over on downs with 46-seconds remaining in the game.
