Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder football team defeated Carthage College 17-3 on Saturday afternoon at McCully Stadium. Wheaton completes the regular season with a 10-0 record for the second consecutive season. Wheaton, 7-0 in CCIW play, wins an outright CCIW Championship for the second straight year. Wheaton will find out its first-round opponent for the upcoming NCAA Division III Playoffs on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. (CST) when the NCAA announces the playoff bracket on www.ncaa.com
On Wheaton's first offensive drive of the game Wheaton was unable to capitalize on outstanding field position as the Thunder started the drive at the Carthage 37-yard line. Thunder kicker Daniel Gray's 44-yard field goal attempt failed with 11:12 remaining in the first quarter to keep the matchup scoreless. The Thunder defense forced a three-and-out on Carthage's next drive. The Thunder pushed the ball to the Carthage 20-yard line, but a Wheaton interception stalled the hosts' drive.
Following the interception, the Red Men put together a lengthy 14-play drive of 43 yards that culminated with a 23-yard field goal by Carthage kicker Lance Unland to give the guests a 3-0 lead with 39-seconds remaining in the first quarter. Each team had three punts in the six total drives that encompassed the second quarter as the Red Men maintained a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Wheaton's Marcus Smith returned the opening kickoff of the second half 22 yards to the Thunder 37-yard line. A pair of runs by Thunder back Danny Puknaitis pushed the ball to the 50-yard line. On the next play, Wheaton quarterback Johnny Peltz connected with Andrew Lindquist for a 46-yard pass to put the Thunder at the Carthage 46-yard line. Gray converted a 26-yard field goal five plays later to tie the game at 3-3 with 11:52 remaining in the third quarter.
A Carthage field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter was blocked by Wheaton's J Moore to keep the score tied at 3-3 and swing momentum in favor of the Thunder. The ensuing drive started at the Thunder 26-yard line and Wheaton methodically moved the ball downfield over the next 10 plays to advance the ball to the Carthage 20-yard line. Peltz connected with Zach Lindquist for a 20-yard touchdown reception to give Wheaton a 10-3 lead with 8:38 left in regulation.
Carthage moved the ball on its next drive, but Smith picked off a Carthage pass at the Thunder 17-yard line and returned it 26 yards to the Wheaton 43-yard line. Puknaitis sparked the first play of the ensuing drive with a 15-yard run on the first play. He culminated the drive with a 24-yard run into the end zone that increased Wheaton's lead to 17-3 with 1:50 remaining in the game. Puknaitis ran for 50 of Wheaton's 57 yards on the drive in his five carries.
On Carthage's final drive the Thunder defense forced incompletions on the first two plays. Thunder sophomore Michael Stanley sack Red Men quarterback Ethan Olleson third-and-10. The Red Men passing attempt on fourth-and-12 was incomplete as Wheaton earned the 17-3 win.
Wheaton amassed 395 yards of total offense on Saturday with 240 passing yards and 155 rushing yards. The Thunder defense held Carthage to just 156 yards of offense in the game and the Red Men tallied just eight first downs in the game. Carthage passed for 108 yards and ran for only 48 yards.
Puknaitis carried the ball 17 times for 85 yards with one touchdown run. Andrew Lindquist caught a team-high four passes for 64 yards and his brother Zach Lindquist had three receptions for 55 yards with the fourth-quarter touchdown catch.
Peltz completed 11 of his 16 passing attempts for 158 yards with one touchdown pass. The junior also ran for 26 yards on seven carries. Quarterback Andrew Bowers completed six of his 12 passing attempts for 82 yards.
Senior linebacker Adam Dansdill recorded 12 total tackles, with four solo stops. Fellow linebacker Caleb Ashby tallied eight tackles, with six solos, including a tackle for lost yardage of one yard. Mikey Swider had five tackles, including a quarterback sack of -6 yards. Sophomore Tyler Sigler tallied five total tackles with a pair of pass breakups.