The fifth-ranked Thunder football team tops Northwestern (Minn.) 56-0 in its season opener

Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton football team, ranked fifth in the D3football.com Top-25 Preseason Poll, opened its season on Saturday afternoon with a 56-0 victory at home against University of Northwestern (Minn.). Wheaton is off next Saturday and returns to action on September 18 when it hosts the "Battle for the Little Brass Bell" against No. 3 North Central.

Wheaton dominated UNW today in all facets of the game. The Thunder offense amassed 513 yards of offense as Wheaton passed for 210 yards and ran for 303 yards. The Wheaton defense shut out the Eagles on the scoreboard as UNW had just 113 yards of offense. The guests passed for 85 yards and ran for just 28 yards.

Running back Giovanni Weeks (PICTURED LEFT) ran for 126 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. Sam Singleton scored twice for the hosts as he ran for 81 yards on eight carries. Quarterback Jeremiah Tucker tallied two rushing touchdowns on 73 rushing yards.

Quarterback Luke Anthony was 11-for-20 passing, with 148 yards through the air and one touchdown pass. Tucker was 6-for-7 passing, with one touchdown toss and 62 passing yards.

McNeill Stout caught four passes for 39 yards with one touchdown grab. Matthew Tucker had a team-high 48 receiving yards on two receptions and Spencer Peterson had one touchdown among his two receptions for 36 yards.

All-American linebacker Ryan Schwartz led Wheaton with a team-high seven total tackles, including five solo stops. Schwartz registered three tackles for lost yardage of seven yards. Defensive linemen Brayden Anthony and Dallas McRae each recorded four total tackles. McRae had two tackles for loss (-3 yards). Stephen Watson and Caleb Egbert each snagged an interception as Egbert returned his pickoff 21 yards for a touchdown.

Wheaton received the opening kickoff and marched down the field on an eight-play drive of 65 yards. The first offensive play of the season was a 23 yard pass from Luke Anthony to Bert McJunkin, setting a strong tone for the Thunder offense. The drive culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Weeks, followed by a PAT to give Wheaton the 7-0 advantage with 10:25 remaining in the first quarter.

Egbert (PICTURED LEFT) intercepted Northwestern's first passing attempt of the game and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown to extend Wheaton's lead to 14-0 with 10:12 remaining in the first quarter. The Thunder defense stopped the Eagles' offense on the guests' next drive, giving the ball back to the Thunder offense. Wheaton put together a nine-play drive of 74 yards that culminated with a 13-yard touchdown run by Singleton to extend the Thunder lead to 21-0 with 2:33 remaining in the first quarter.

Wheaton's first drive of the second quarter was a lengthy 14-play drive of 74 yards that lasted 6:17. Weeks had a key 22-yard run in the drive that concluded on a three-yard touchdown run by Singleton. Singleton's second touchdown of the day increased Wheaton's lead to 28-0. The Thunder led 28-0 at halftime.

Anthony connected with Peterson on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 5:36 left in the third quarter. The first Thunder touchdown toss of the day extended the hosts' lead to 35-0 with 5:36 left in the third quarter.

Wheaton's first play of the fourth quarter was a 28-yard touchdown pass from Tucker to Stout that capped a four-play drive of 64 yards. The Tucker toss gave Wheaton a 42-0 lead with 14:53 left in the fourth quarter. Tucker reached the end zone on pair of fourth quarter touchdown runs. He registered a 38-yard touchdown run less than two minutes after his pass to Stout and he had a one-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to give Wheaton the 56-0 final result.