#7-Thunder football team loses CCIW opener at IWU, 24-19

Bloomington, Ill. - The #7-ranked Wheaton football team dropped a 24-19 decision in its conference opener on Saturday night at Illinois Wesleyan. Wheaton is now 3-1 on the year, with an 0-1 CCIW record. The Thunder will host Elmhurst College next Saturday afternoon at 1 PM for Wheaton's Homecoming. Illinois Wesleyan is now 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

Wheaton recorded 343 yards of offense, passing for 282 yards, with 61 rushing yards. Illinois Wesleyan had 309 offensive yards in the game, with 249 passing yards and 60 rushing yards.

Thunder quarterback Garrett Meador completed 26 of his 47 passing attempts for 282 yards with one touchdown pass. Freshman Mark Hiben caught seven passes for 88 yards, with one touchdown reception. Senior Teddy Watkins (PICTURED RIGHT) caught six passes for 80 yards and he returned three kickoffs for 86 yards, as he had 192 all-purpose yards for the Thunder. Tailback Peter Jarrett carried the ball 12 times for 51 yards, with a touchdown run.

Oskar Cadena led the Thunder with seven total tackles. Senior Brian McMullen tallied six total tackles with an interception. Robert Ramsay and Richard Jacobson each made five total tackles as Ramsay made two tackles for loss, including a quarterback sack.

The Titans recovered a Thunder fumble on the opening drive and returned it deep into Wheaton territory and scored one play later on a five-yard run by IWU's Sean Conley. Wheaton cut the Titans' lead to 7-3 with 9:09 left in the first quarter on a 35-yard field goal by senior Scott Roche.

Illinois Wesleyan opened the second quarter with a 23-yard field goal to take a 10-3 lead on the Thunder. The Titans responded with an 11-play scoring drive that was capped on a one-yard touchdown run that gave IWU a 17-3 lead with 6:54 left in the first half. On the ensuing kickoff, Wheaton's Jordan Langs returned the kickoff 81 yards to the IWU four-yard line. Thunder tailback Peter Jarrett scored on the first play of the Wheaton drive with a four-yard touchdown run that cut the Titans' lead to 17-9 with 6:31 remaining in the first half. The hosts held onto a 17-9 lead at the halftime intermission.

The Titans were first to score in the second half when they capped a six-play drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to take 24-9 lead with 5:53 remaining in the third quarter. Roche cut the Titans' lead to 24-12 with a 33-yard field goal with 4:01 left in the third quarter.

The Titan defense stopped Wheaton at the IWU 16-yard line on fourth down with 13:59 left in the game to stall a potential scoring drive. With 4:38 left in the game, Illinois Wesleyan intercepted a Thunder pass in the red zone to stop another scoring threat for the guests. Wheaton's Micah Markley intercepted an IWU pass and returned it to the Titans' 29-yard line. Two plays later Meador threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Hiben (PICTURED LEFT) to cut the Illinois Wesleyan lead to 24-19 with 3:57 remaining in the game. Illinois Wesleyan's defense stalled Wheaton's final drive to hold on for the 24-19 IWU victory.

Titan quarterback Rob Gallik was 24-for-36 passing, for 249 yards with one touchdown pass. Tate Musselman caught six passes for 95 yards, with one touchdown catch. Ben Houk led the IWU defense with 11 total tackles.