Wheaton vs John Carroll University

Wheaton lost to John Carroll University 12–14 at home in Wheaton, Ill. on Saturday, November 29, 2014. It was the last of twelve games logged in 2014 — second round of that year's NCAA Division III playoffs, and it left Wheaton at 11-1. It is the only meeting with John Carroll University in the archive. Mike Swider was in his 19th season as head coach.

The Thunder football team bows out of the NCAA Playoffs in a 14-12 loss to John Carroll

Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton College football team lost a two-point contest on Saturday at home in a 14-12 loss to John Carroll in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs. The Thunder ends the 2014 campaign with an 11-1 record to tie Wheaton's 2008 team for the second most wins in a single-season. John Carroll (11-1) will face University of Mount Union next Saturday in a third-round matchup of the playoffs next Saturday.

The Blue Streaks reached the scoreboard first today as JCU opened its second drive of the game on its own 18-yard line and marched down the field on an 82-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Tommy Michals. The Blue Streaks converted the PAT attempt to lead 7-0 with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter.

Wheaton put together a lengthy nine-play drive of 77 yards that was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Danny Puknaitis (PICTURED LEFT) with 31-seconds left in the first half. The ensuing PAT attempt was blocked by JCU as the guests led 7-6 at halftime.

John Carroll scored on the opening drive of the third quarter as Mark Myers connected with Zach Strippy for a 22-yard touchdown catch that increased the JCU lead to 14-6 with 12:59 remaining in the third quarter. Wheaton countered on its second drive of the third quarter as quarterback Johnny Peltz connected with Zach Lindquist (PICTURED RIGHT) on a three-yard touchdown pass with 3:37 left in the third quarter to cut the Blue Streaks' lead to 14-12. Wheaton's two-point conversion attempt following the Lindquist touchdown failed as the guests remained in the lead 14-12.

The Blue Streaks attempted a 25-yard field goal with 11:00 remaining in the fourth quarter that was blocked by Wheaton junior Mikey Swider. Wheaton's ensuing drive got to the John Carroll 14-yard line and was stalled on a close fourth-down call. Wheaton had one final drive that began at the Thunder 34-yard line with 2:18 remaining in regulation. A 12-yard pass from Peltz to Keegan Kemp and a 10-yard pass to Luke Thorson aided the Thunder drive. The hosts' attempt at its first lead of the game was stalled when a 41-yard field goal attempt by Wheaton was wide left with 1:07 remaining in the game. John Carroll ran out the clock to secure the victory and advancement to the third round.

Wheaton tallied 345 yards of offense on Saturday, with 243 passing yards and 102 rushing yards. The Blue Streaks totaled 338 yards in the game, with 229 yards through the air and 109 yards on the ground.

Wheaton head coach Mike Swider noted following the game, "I feel bad for our kids. The moment it's over you realize how much work goes into getting to that opportunity and the work you have to do in the offseason just to get back to this moment and it just hurts."

Peltz completed 18 of his 33 passing attempts for 243 yards with one TD pass. He also carried the ball 20 times for 28 yards. Puknaitis ran for 24 yards with one touchdown. Lindquist caught five passes for 80 yards and one TD. Thorson caught three passes for 61 yards.

Junior linebacker Adam Dansdill led the Thunder defense with 10 total tackles and a forced fumble. Josh Aldrin (PICTURED LEFT) recorded seven tackles on the defensive line. Mikey Swider and Alex Mendez each recorded six tackles. Michael Risher tallied five tackles and recorded an interception for the hosts.

Michals carried the ball 22 times for 81 yards and one touchdown and he caught six passes for 34 yards. Myers was 19-for-29 passing in the game, with 229 yards and one touchdown toss. Marshall Howell caught five passes for 85 yards. Jimmy King led the Blue Streaks' defense with 12 tackles and an interception. Brody Zangaro, Frank Pines and Kevin Cope each recorded eight tackles. Pines led the JCU defense with two tackles for lost yardage of minus-three yards.Print Friendly Version

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Team Statistics

Team Statistics

Game Stats |

JCU |

WHEATON |

Total Yards |

338 |

345 |

Pass Yards |

229 |

243 |

Rushing Yards |

109 |

102 |

Penalty Yards |

8-80 |

3-15 |

1st Downs |

16 |

20 |

3rd Downs |

5-11 |

8-19 |

4th Downs |

0-0 |

3-5 |

TOP |

28:30 |

31:30 |

Scoring Summary

Scoring Play |

Visiting Team Score |

Home Team Score |

1st Quarter

|

01:47 - JCU - Tommy Michals 1 yd run (Wes Keller kick), 9 plays, 82 yards, TOP 4:21

|

7 |

0 |

2nd Quarter

|

00:31 - WHEATON - Puknaitis 1 yd run (Cote kick blocked), 9 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:55

|

7 |

6 |

3rd Quarter

|

12:59 - JCU - Zach Strippy 22 yd pass from Mark Myers (Wes Keller kick) 4 plays, 68 yards, TOP 2:01

|

14 |

6 |

03:37 - WHEATON - Lindquist, Zach 3 yd pass from Peltz (Peltz pass failed) 13 plays, 71 yards, TOP 6:18

|

14 |

12 |

Total Yards

JCU

338

WHEATON

345

Turnovers

JCU

2

WHEATON

1

First Downs

JCU

16

WHEATON

20

Total Possession

JCU

28:30

WHEATON

31:30

Game Leaders

Choose a category:

Passing Leaders

Rushing Leaders

Receiving Leaders

Defense Leaders

Passing Stats">

#11 Peltz, Johnny

CMP

18

TD

1

YDS

243

INT

1

Rushing Stats">

#11 Peltz, Johnny

Avg

1.4

TD

0

YDS

28

GAIN

34

Rushing Stats">

#32 Puknaitis, Danny

Avg

3.4

TD

1

YDS

24

GAIN

26

Rushing Stats">

#23 Olateju, Sola

Avg

6.3

TD

0

YDS

19

GAIN

19

Receiving Stats">

#89 Lindquist, Zach

No

5

TD

1

YDS

80

Long

25

Receiving Stats">

#18 Thorson, Luke

No

3

TD

0

YDS

61

Long

36

Receiving Stats">

#6 Kemp, Keegan

No

2

TD

0

YDS

48

Long

36

Defense Stats">

#44 Dansdill, Adam

Tackles

10

TFL

0.0

Sacks

0.0

YDS

0

Defense Stats">

#92 Aldrin, Josh

Tackles

7

TFL

0.5

Sacks

0.0

YDS

0

Defense Stats">

#5 Swider, Mikey

Tackles

6

TFL

0.0

Sacks

0.0

YDS

0

Receiving Yards

#89

Lindquist, Zach

Lindquist, Zach

80

Thorson, Luke

61

Kemp, Keegan

48

Mitchell, Matt

41

Passing Yards

#11

Peltz, Johnny

Peltz, Johnny

243

Rushing Yards

#11

Peltz, Johnny

Peltz, Johnny

28

Puknaitis, Danny

24

Olateju, Sola

19

Kemp, Keegan

14

Tackles

#44

Dansdill, Adam

Dansdill, Adam

10

Aldrin, Josh

7

Swider, Mikey

6

Mendez, Alex

6

Players Mentioned

#92

Josh Aldrin

DL

5' 8"

Sophomore

#44

Adam Dansdill

LB

6' 0"

Junior

#6

Keegan Kemp

WR

6' 0"

Junior

#23

Alex Mendez

DB

6' 0"

Junior

#11

Johnny Peltz

QB

6' 3"

Sophomore

#32

Danny Puknaitis

RB

5' 10"

Junior

#25

Michael Risher

DB

6' 0"

Senior

#5

Mikey Swider

LB

6' 2"

Junior

#18

Luke Thorson

WR

6' 6"

Senior

#89

Zach Lindquist

SB

6' 4"

Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#92

Josh Aldrin

5' 8"

Sophomore

DL

#44

Adam Dansdill

6' 0"

Junior

LB

#6

Keegan Kemp

6' 0"

Junior

WR

#23

Alex Mendez

6' 0"

Junior

DB

#11

Johnny Peltz

6' 3"

Sophomore

QB

#32

Danny Puknaitis

5' 10"

Junior

RB

#25

Michael Risher

6' 0"

Senior

DB

#5

Mikey Swider

6' 2"

Junior

LB

#18

Luke Thorson

6' 6"

Senior

WR

#89

Zach Lindquist

6' 4"

Sophomore

SB

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