The Wheaton football team closes its historic season in a 34-33 loss to St. John's (MN) in NCAA Quarterfinal

Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton College football team lost to St. John's (Minn.) on Saturday in a Quarterfinal Round game of the NCAA Division III Playoffs. The Johnnies topped the Thunder 34-33. Wheaton closes its season with a 12-1 record, posting only the second 12-win season in program history. St. John's is now 12-1 on the season and advances to next Saturday's NCAA Division III National Semifinal against UW-Whitewater.

Wheaton tallied 455 yards of offense, rushing for 165 yards with 290 passing yards. St. John's had 399 yards of total offense, with 407 passing yards and minus-8 rushing yards.

Thunder quarterback Luke Anthony completed 29 of his 39 passing attempts for 290 yards, with two touchdown passes. Adam Terrini caught eight passes for 88 yards and Phillip Nichols had eight receptions for 81 yards. T.J. Williams ran for 65 yards on 18 carries and Stone Watson had 64 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Linebacker Ryan Schwartz (PICTURED RIGHT) led the Thunder defense with 10 total tackles, all solo stops. Wyatt Lee had five solo tackles and Caden Sigler tallied five total tackles. Lee recorded two tackles for lost yardage (-2 yards). All-American defensive tackle Dallas McRae had four solo tackles, including two quarterback sacks (-15 yards). Three of McRae's tackles were for lost yardage (-16 yards). Jake Holaday had a sack (-2 yards).

St. John's scored on the opening drive of the game. The Johnnies posted a seven-play drive of 75 yards that culminated with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Erdmann to Ravi Alston to give the guests a 7-0 lead with 11:34 remaining in the first quarter. The Johnnies scored with two seconds left in the first quarter on a 69-yard touchdown pass from Erdmann to Blake Patrick to extend the guests' lead to 14-0.

Wheaton's first points of the game came early in the second quarter, on the drive that followed Patrick's touchdown. Anthony connected with Williams (PICTURED LEFT) on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 10:12 remaining in the second quarter. Williams' touchdown trimmed the Johnnies' lead to 14-7. St. John's responded with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Erdmann to Ravi Alston with 7:06 left in the second quarter. Alston's touchdown extended the guests' lead to 21-7, a margin the guests held at the halftime intermission.

Wheaton capitalized on its second possession of the third quarter. The Thunder put together a seven-play drive of 57 yards that culminated with a two-yard touchdown pass from Anthony to Bert McJunkin. McJunkin's touchdown with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter trimmed the Johnnies' lead to 21-14.

Three plays into St. John's next drive, Wheaton senior Corey Kennedy (PICTURED RIGHT) intercepted an Erdmann pass at the Thunder 41-yard line. Wheaton marched the ball 59 yards on an 11-play drive that was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by Matthew Tucker. Tucker's run from the wildcat formation tied the game at 21-21 with 14:24 left in the fourth quarter. Two drives later, the Johnnies took advantage of a Wheaton fumble at the St. John's 46-yard line. Erdmann connected with Blake Patrick on a 54-yard touchdown pass on the first play after the fumble. Patrick's touchdown gave the guests a 27-21 lead with 12:58 remaining in the game, as the SJU PAT attempt was no good.

Wheaton's next drive was an eight-play drive of 73 yards that culminated with a seven-yard touchdown run by Anthony. Anthony's touchdown evened the scored at 27-27 with 8:22 remaining in the game. Wheaton was unable to convert the PAT attempt that followed Anthony's touchdown as the score remained tied. The Johnnies responded on the ensuing drive with a six-play drive of 75 yards that ended with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Erdmann to Jack Kemper. Kemper's touchdown extended the Johnnies' lead to 34-27 with 6:07 remaining in the game.

The Thunder followed Kemper's touchdown with a lengthy drive that gradually marched the hosts down the field. Wheaton had the ball and fourth-and-one at the St. John's nine-yard line. Center Jake Hibben lined up in the backfield and earned the Thunder a first down on a five-yard run that positioned the hosts at the St. John's four-yard line. Hibben again carried the ball the next three times and his final run was a one-yard touchdown run to cut the St. John's lead to 34-33 with nine-seconds left in the game.

Wheaton was charged with a penalty for celebration following the touchdown. The penalty was added onto the PAT attempt that followed. Wheaton lined up for the PAT kick and the kick was no good, however, each team committed a penalty on the attempt as the offsetting penalties allowed for another PAT attempt for the Thunder. The PAT attempt that followed was narrowly wide right as St. John's held onto its one-point lead at 34-33 with nine seconds left in the game. St. John's recovered Wheaton's onside kick attempt that followed as the guests took a knee for the final play of the game to escape with the one-point victory.

NOTE WORTHY: The 12 wins compiled by Wheaton this year ties the school record for wins in a single season...the 83 touchdowns scored by Wheaton this year is a new school record (surpassing 70 touchdowns in 2003)...the 611 points scored by the Thunder breaks the previous school record set in 2008...the 6,289 yards of total offense surpasses the previous school record of 5,926 yards established in 2003...Wheaton's 2,872 rushing yards this year sets a new school record, breaking the old mark of 2,800 yards that had stood since 1991...the Thunder threw for 43 passing touchdowns this season to break the old school record of 36 in 2008...quarterback Luke Anthony threw for a Wheaton single-season record 35 passing touchdowns this season, he surpassed the previous school record of 32 passing touchdowns by Sean Norris in 2008...Anthony's 3,032 yards of total offense this year is the fifth-highest single-season total in program history and the most since Norris put up 3,383 yards of offense in 2008...Anthony threw for a Wheaton single-season record 35 passing touchdowns this season, he surpassed the previous school record of 32 passing touchdowns by Sean Norris in 2008...Anthony's 3,032 yards of total offense this year is the fifth-highest single-season total in program history and the most since Norris put up 3,383 yards of offense in 2008...Phillip Nichols (PICTURED LEFT) concludes his outstanding Wheaton career with 2,818 receiving yards in four seasons, a mark that is fifth all-time in program history...Griffin Bowes finishes his Wheaton career with 207 career points, a mark that is ninth all-time in program history.Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#6

Griffin Bowes

K

6' 1"

Senior

#61

Jake Hibben

OL

6' 0"

Senior

#92

Jake Holaday

DL

6' 3"

Junior

#7

Corey Kennedy

DB

5' 9"

Senior

#54

Dallas McRae

DL

6' 0"

Senior

#11

Phillip Nichols

WR

5' 11"

Senior

#34

Ryan Schwartz

LB

5' 10"

Junior

#21

Caden Sigler

DB

5' 10"

Senior

#4

Adam Terrini

WR

6' 1"

Senior

#31

Stone Watson

RB

6' 0"

Senior

Players Mentioned

#6

Griffin Bowes

6' 1"

Senior

K

#61

Jake Hibben

6' 0"

Senior

OL

#92

Jake Holaday

6' 3"

Junior

DL

#7

Corey Kennedy

5' 9"

Senior

DB

#54

Dallas McRae

6' 0"

Senior

DL

#11

Phillip Nichols

5' 11"

Senior

WR

#34

Ryan Schwartz

5' 10"

Junior

LB

#21

Caden Sigler

5' 10"

Senior

DB

#4

Adam Terrini

6' 1"

Senior

WR

#31

Stone Watson

6' 0"

Senior

RB

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