Wheaton at Millikin University

Wheaton lost to Millikin University 10–35 on the road in Decatur, Ill. on Saturday, October 7, 2000. It was the fifth of ten games logged in 2000, and it left Wheaton at 3-2. It was the 46th meeting with Millikin University, after which Wheaton trailed the series 22-24. Mike Swider was in his fifth season as head coach.

#15-Ranked Millikin quiets the Thunder 35-10 in Decatur (Boxscore)

Wheaton, Ill. (10/7) The Millikin University Big Blue (5-0/3-0 CCIW) used a balanced

offensive and defensive effort and took advantage of several Wheaton College

(3-2/2-1) miscues in posting a 35-10 win in Division III football action

on Saturday afternoon at Frank M. Lindsay Field in Decatur, Illinois. Wheaton

committed six turnovers on the day, including two on special teams inside

its own 20-yard line. Millikin also scored on a big-play as senior running

back Deon Packer scampered for a 73-yard touchdown run. The two special

team turnovers and the 73-yard run by Packer accounted for 21 of the Big

Blues 35 points.

The two squads battled through

a scoreless first quarter, before Wheaton took a 3-0 lead with 13:01 left

in the second quarter thanks to a 27-yard field goal by All-American placekicker

Chris Baughman (Fort Morgan Colo./Fort Morgan). Baughmans field

goals capped an eight-play drive of 29-yards that was setup when Wheaton

linebacker JD Leman (Champaign, Ill./Central) intercepted a Millikin

pass. After the Millikin defense stalled a long Wheaton drive Big Blue running

back Packer took the ball 73-yards for the hosts on the first play of the

drive to give Millikin a 7-3 lead. On the very next play Wheaton fumbled

the ensuing kickoff and Millikin recovered it on the Wheaton 15-yard line.

Two plays later Millikin made it 14-3 thanks to another Packer touchdown

run. Wheatons next drive stalled on its own 41-yard line and its punt attempt

was blocked and returned by Millikin to the Wheaton seven-yard line. Two

plays later the hosts again reached the end zone as they owned a 21-3 lead.

Wheaton closed the lead shortly before halftime as quarterback Josh Anderson (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) found senior wide receiver

Jeremy Amos (Austin, Texas/Westlake) on

a 20-yard touchdown toss with 00:37 left in the second quarter. Amos' touchdown catch capped an eight-play

drive of 66 yards. Millikin owned a 21-10 advantage at halftime.

Millikin held Wheaton scoreless

in the second half and added one touchdown in both the third and fourth

quarters. Millikin quarterback Tim

Brylka scrambled for a 34-yard touchdown run with 7:55 left in the third

quarter that gave the Big Blue a 28-10 lead. With 5:36 left in the game

Brylka found wide receiver Jerome

Jackson on a 26-yard touchdown toss to give Millikin the final 35-10

advantage in the contest.

Sophomore quarterback Josh

Anderson was 13-28 on the day with 209 passing yards and a touchdown toss

for the Thunder. Starting quarterback Neil

Anderson (Clear Lake, Texas/Clear Lake) was 6-19 for 49 yards with three

interceptions. Amos had 10 catches for 162 receiving yards and one touchdown

reception. Senior wide receiver Chris

Boddy (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights) had six catches for 85 yards

on the day. Senior running back Brian

Pastermack (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island) was Wheaton's leading

rusher with 58 yards on 13 carries.

Senior linebacker Greg

McMillin (Nampa, Idaho/Nampa Senior) posted 14 total tackles with 10

solos, while freshman safety Grant Tillotson (Wheaton, Ill./North)

had 12 total tackles (ten solo) with two passes broken up and an interception.

Leman added nine total tackles (eight solo) to his interception that set

up the Thunder field goal. Fellow senior linebacker Brett Wyss (Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) made 10 total tackles (six

solo), while sophomore defensive tackle Dane

Lundgren (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) made eight total tackles (three

solo). Fellow sophomore defensive tackle Jeff

Darnauer (Goodland, Kan./Goodland) made six total tackles (four solo)

with two quarterback sacks (minus-14 yards).

Millikin

was led offensively by the tandem of Packer and Brylka. Packer rushed for

218 yards on 29 carries for two touchdowns with an impressive average of

7.5 yards per carry. Brylka ran for 97 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown

run. He passed for 125 yards on 10 completions with 22 attempts and two

touchdown tosses. Jackson was also impressive as the Big Blue wide receiver

had 100 receiving yards on six receptions with one touchdown catch.

Behind the combination of

Brylka and Packer Millikin gained 346 rushing yards on 58 carries. The Big

Blue passed for 125 yards as the hosts tallied 471 yards of total offense.

Wheaton rushed for just 44 net yards, while Josh and Neil Anderson combined

for 258 passing yards. The Thunder amassed 302 yards of total offense on

the afternoon.

Wheaton will return home

to McCully Field next Saturday when it hosts Carthage. The game is scheduled

for a 1 PM kickoff and can be heard on WETN-radio 88.1 FM and on the Internet

at http://www.wheaton.edu/wetn.

Read it in the news archive →