No. 21 Illinois Wesleyan stuns the fourth-ranked Thunder football team 14-10

Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton Thunder football team hosted Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon in a battle of nationally ranked CCIW foes. The Titans scored a touchdown and converted a PAT with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to upend the Thunder 14-10.

Wheaton entered today's matchup ranked fourth in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Top-25 Poll and fifth in this week's D3football.com Top-25. The Titans arrived at McCully Stadium ranked 19th in the D3football.com poll and 21st in the AFCA poll.

The defenses of both teams stymied both offenses for much of the game today. Wheaton accumulated 278 yards of offense, rushing for 73 yards and passing for 205. The Titans tallied 85 rushing yards and 199 passing yards for 284 yards of total offense.

Wheaton returned the opening kickoff and moved the ball down the field to the Titans' 20-yard line. A 37-yard field goal attempt by the Thunder to close the drive was wide as the game remained scoreless. The Titans moved the ball downfield on their second drive of the game as running back Morgan Alexander capped the 10-play drive with a 28-yard touchdown run to give the guests a 7-0 lead with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter.

Field position played a key role early in the second quarter. As Wheaton started its first drive of the quarter at its own 45-yard line the Thunder used a mix of rushing and passing to get to the 16-yard line. Thunder running back Jaelin Goldsmith took the hand off and completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Carter Roberts (PICTURED LEFT) in the end zone. Roberts' touchdown catch with 8:07 left in the second quarter tied the game at 7-7. Late in the first half, Thunder defensive back Kyle Fox intercepted an IWU pass at the Wheaton 33-yard line to stall a Titan drive. The matchup was tied 7-7 at halftime.

Both defenses played a key role in the scoreless third quarter. Thunder defensive lineman Dmarte Arafiles (PICTURED RIGHT) intercepted an IWU pass with 11:09 remaining in the fourth quarter at the Titans' 22-yard line. Arafiles' interception set up a 33-yard field goal by kicker Stefan Knoerr. Knoerr's field goal gave the Thunder a 10-7 lead with 9:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Thunder defense stopped the IWU defense on the ensuing drive with an impressive effort. The Thunder consumed approximately 2:30 minutes on the drive that followed. A Wheaton punt traveled 26 yards as the Titans' drive started on the guests own 14-yard line. IWU moved down the field and with six-seconds left Brandon Bauer completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Zach Walsh. Patrick Tata converted the PAT to give the guests a 14-10 lead that the Titans held onto for the victory.

Thunder quarterback Curtis McWilliams completed 19 of his 26 passing attempts for 189 yards. Running back Sola Olateju carried the ball 22 times for 62 yards. Spencer Peterson ran for 31 yards on eight carries. Carter Roberts collected eight catches for 75 yards with one touchdown catch.

Thunder linebacker Eric Stevenson led all players with 17 total tackles, making nine solo stops. Senior Luke Sahly (PICTURED LEFT) recorded 11 total tackles. Corey Kennedy made seven stops as he and Sahly each had a pass break up. Chase Greenlee registered six total tackles, including two sacks (-13 yards).