Wheaton at Carthage College

Wheaton lost to Carthage College 21–39 on the road in Kenosha, Wis. on Saturday, October 30, 2004. It was the eighth of twelve games logged in 2004, and it left Wheaton at 7-1. It was the 41st meeting with Carthage College, after which Wheaton led the series 31-10. Mike Swider was in his ninth season as head coach.

Wheaton Thunder Football 2004 Game Stories Carthage's 39-21 win over the Thunder snaps Wheaton's win streak

Kenosha, Wis. (10/30) Carthage College upset third-ranked Wheaton 39-21 (Boxscore) under windy conditions this afternoon in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) football action. The loss to the Redmen snaps Wheaton's 26-game regular-season winning streak and also breaks the program's 21-game win streak against CCIW foes. Both teams now have 7-1 overall records and 4-1 records in CCIW player. The Thunder and Redmen are tied for second place in the CCIW standings, one game behind first-place Augustana (5-0).

Wheaton had 366 yards of offense with 289 passing yards and 77 rushing yards. Thunder quarterback Jeremy Chupp completed 18 of his 38 passing attempts for 289 yards with three touchdown throws. Senior Colin Sinclair (PICTURED LEFT) caught 13 passes for 205 yards with two touchdowns catches. Senior tailback Garrett Granberg carried the ball 14 times for 108 yards.

Sophomore defensive end Michael Ware (PICTURED RIGHT), defensive back Todd Travis and linebacker Phil Montes each made a team-high 10 total tackles. Montes added 2-1/2 tackles for lost yardage of seven yards. Jason Isaacson (PICTURED BELOW) added eight solo tackles.

Carthage recorded 420 yards of offense with 267 rushing yards and 153 passing yards. Carthage quarterback Ferni Garza completed 12 of his 22 passing attempts for 153 yards. All-American tailback Dante Washington carried the ball 57 times for 231 yards with three touchdowns.

Carthage 's Matt Denny gave the Redmen a 3-0 lead with a 31-yard field goal with 10:28 to play in the first quarter. Washington increased the hosts' lead to 10-0 with a two-yard touchdown run with 19-seconds left in the first quarter. On the very next drive of the game Carthage 's Frank Shenault returned a Wheaton pass 42 yards for an interception return into the end zone for a 17-0 Redmen lead. Wheaton 's first points of the game came when Chupp completed a 12-yard pass to wide receiver Brad Musso in the end zone for a 17-7 Carthage lead with 13:06 to play in the first half. Garza scored on a one-yard touchdown run to increase the Carthage lead to 23-7 and start a 16-point scoring burst that would aid the Redmen for the remainder of the game. A punting miscue by the Thunder led to a safety for Carthage and increased its lead to 25-7. With 2:15 left in the first half Washington broke free for a 31-yard run to increase the Carthage lead to 32-7. Chupp threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Sinclair with 1:37 left in the first half to cut Carthage 's lead to 32-14.

Washington reached the end zone on a five-yard run with 7:23 to play in the first quarter to increase Carthage 's lead to 39-14. On the next drive Wheaton failed on an attempt to convert on fourth down, needing three yards for a first down with 3:05 left in the third quarter and the ball at the Carthage 12-yard line. Carthage got the ball back and held on to the ball for most of the remainder of the third quarter. With 8:29 left in the game Sinclair reached the end zone on a 73-yard reception to make it a 39-21 Carthage lead.

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