15th-ranked Wheaton drops a 37-23 decision at Elmhurst

Elmhurst, Ill. – The 15th-ranked Thunder football team dropped a 37-23 decision at Elmhurst College on Saturday afternoon. Both Wheaton and Elmhurst are now 6-2 overall and 3-2 in CCIW play with today's result.

Wheaton will host Illinois Wesleyan next Saturday at 1 PM in the final home game of the year for the Thunder. Saturday's game will be broadcast on WETN radio and WETN-TV in the Wheaton area and on the internet at www.wetn.org with live statistics available on Wheaton Athletics website.

Wheaton took an early 3-0 lead in today's game when senior Tim Ellingsen booted a 23-yard field goal to give the guests a 3-0 lead with 8:11 left in the first quarter. Elmhurst tied the game at 3-3 with a 28-yard field goal with 30-seconds left in the first quarter.

A pair of Elmhurst touchdowns in the second quarter gave the hosts a 16-3 lead. Wheaton cut the Bluejays' advantage to 16-9 when Thunder quarterback Sean Norris threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Danny Hindman with 1:35 left in the game. Wheaton was unable to convert the ensuing extra-point attempt as the Bluejays held a 16-9 edge at halftime.

The Bluejays scored the only points of the third quarter when receiver Matt D'Angelo caught a 39-yard touchdown pass with 4:34 left in the third quarter to give the hosts a 23-9 edge. Elmhurst scored again on a one-yard touchdown toss with 13:02 left in the fourth quarter to extend the Bluejays' lead to 30-9. Norris connected with fellow senior Alex Pokorny (PICTURED RIGHT) on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 8:33 left in the game to cut the Bluejays' advantage to 30-16. Elmhurst extended its lead to 37-16 with 4:15 left in regulation with D'Angelo's second touchdown catch of the afternoon. Thunder sophomore Rocky Gingg reached the end zone on a two-yard touchdown run with 1:39 left in the game to cut the hosts' lead to 37-23. Elmhurst recovered the ensuing Thunder on-side kick attempt and ran out the clock for the remainder of the game to earn its first win against Wheaton since 1999.

Wheaton tallied 310 yards of offense, with 259 passing yards and a season-low 51 rushing yards. Elmhurst collected 391 yards of total offense, rushing for 154 yards, with 237 passing yards.

Norris completed 25 of his 47 passing attempts for 259 yards, with two touchdown tosses. Pokorny caught a game-high 10 receptions for 111 yards, with one touchdown. Gingg carried the ball 16 times for 49 yards, with one touchdown run.

Thunder linebacker Stephen Pagh collected 10 total tackles, including six solo stops, with a quarterback sack (-3 yards). Defensive tackle Grant Roszkowiak was in on 10 total tackles, with a tackle for lost yardage (-1 yard). Defensive end Aaron Reyes made nine total tackles. Cornerback Tyler Langs made seven tackles, including six solos, with a 50-yard interception return. Defensive end Ben Kuenzle made two tackles for lost yardage (-4 yards) and linebacker Jon Ryan (PICTURED) had an interception.

Elmhurst quarterback Chris Kudyba was 14-for-27 passing, for 237 yards, with three touchdowns. D'Angelo caught six passes, for 169 yards, with two touchdown catches. Randy Wright led the Elmhurst defense with 11 total tackles, including two quarterback sacks and four quarterback hurries. Eric Puzon tallied 10 total tackles, with a quarterback sack, a fumble recovery and in interception.