Thunder football team earns a dramatic 20-14 win at Augustana

Rock Island, Ill. – The Thunder football team came from behind, and then made a goal line stand in the final minute to hold off the Augustana Vikings in a 20-14 victory on the road on Saturday afternoon. Wheaton is ranked #17 in the d3football.come poll and 12th in the AFCA Coaches poll advance to 8-0 and 5-0 in CCIW play.

After trailing at halftime 9-7, Augustana scored on its first possession of the second half on a 33-yard touchdown run by Robert Wood to take re-take the lead that they would hold for much of the second half. Wheaton cut into the lead on a 32-yard field goal by Scott Roche (PICTURED RIGHT) with 7:52 remaining in the game. Roche was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts in the game including a 42-yarder as time expired in the first half to give Wheaton a 9-7 halftime advantage as well as a career-long kick of 52 yards in the second quarter.

Trailing 14-12, Wheaton took over possession on its own 40-yardline following a Viking three-and-out. Three plays later, Jordan Roberts (PICTURED LEFT) rolled right and found Teddy Watkins running wide open down the middle of the field for a 44-yard touchdown toss to give the Thunder a lead they would never relinquish. Roberts also added a run for the two-point conversion. Roberts finished 14-for-20 passing for 132 yards and a touchdown.

Augustana then took the ensuing kickoff and drove down to the Wheaton two-yard line with 56 seconds remaining. Facing first-and-goal, Augustana's backup running back Tyler Trimberger ran for no gain and Viking quarterback David Lee was sacked by Thunder linebacker Richard Jacobson for a three-yard loss forcing Augustana to take its final timeout. Following another incomplete pass, Augustana was whistled for a delay of game penalty forcing them back to the ten. With pressure coming, Lee lobbed it into the back of the end zone and Tyler Langs batted the pass away to preserve the victory.

Wheaton blocked its first kick of the season at the 12:44 mark in the third quarter when Tommy Burggraf got his hands on a field goal attempt by Arnie Fitzwater. Fitzwater missed a 25-yard attempt wide right in the third. Augustana also blocked a kick as Viking linebacker Joe Weber blocked a punt by Tony Vargyas early in the third quarter.

Thunder head coach Mike Swider noted, “It was a phenomenal effort by our kids.” He added, “We had some great individual performances as well as a great effort from the whole team. Defensively we came up and made the plays we needed to make time and time again.”

Wheaton recorded 249 yards of total offense, with 151 passing yards and 98 rushing yards. Sophomore tailback Peter Jarrett was the leader in the ground game with 44 yards on 10 carries. And he also caught five passes for 32 yards. Teddy Watkins led the Thunder in receiving with 52 yards on a pair of catches.

Langs led the defense with eight tackles, as well as three first half interceptions and 102 return yards. Jacobson (PICTURED RIGHT) also made eight tackles, including the key fourth-quarter sack. Jordan Chapman made six total tackles for the guests.

Augustana quarterback David Lee was 26-for-52 through the air for the Vikings, with 323 passing yards and a touchdown as well as three interceptions. Zach McCullough was his leading receiver with 10 catches for 127 yards. Tight end Keith Abbey was on the receiving end of Lee's 20-yard touchdown pass with 4:52 remaining in the first half to give Augie their first lead of the afternoon at 7-6. Robert Wood carried 17 times for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Augustana is now 5-3 on the year, with a 3-2 CCIW record. Wheaton is now 8-0 on the season and 5-0 in CCIW play. The Thunder will host North Central next Saturday at 1 PM at McCully Stadium. The Cardinals will visit Wheaton with an identical 8-0 overall mark and 5-0 conference record as the game will give the winner outright possession of first place in the CCIW.