No. 9 Trinity (Texas) edges No. 8 Thunder football team in a thrilling season opener

San Antonio, Texas – The eighth-ranked Thunder football team traveled to Texas for the program's first regular season contest in the 'Lone Star State' to face ninth-ranked Trinity University. The hard-fought non-conference battle was tied 10-10 at the end of regulation and needed overtime to collect the final score. Trinity scored a touchdown in its first overtime possession to take a 17-10 lead. Wheaton scored to cut the Tigers' lead to 17-16. However, Wheaton's PAT kick following the touchdown was blocked and the hosts earned the 17-16 OT victory.

The evenly contested game saw Wheaton obtain 21 first downs to Trinity's 20. Trinity had the ball for 32:27 of game time, while Wheaton had 27:33 in time of possession. The Thunder offense totaled 361 yards of offense and the Tigers had 397 yards of total offense. Wheaton ran for 59 yards on the evening and passed for 302. The host Tigers ran for 118 yards with 279 passing yards.

All-American running back Giovanni Weeks carried the ball 13 times for 31 yards with one touchdown run, and he collected five receptions for 68 receiving yards with a touchdown catch as the senior recorded both of Wheaton's touchdowns in the contest.

Thunder quarterback Will Bowers completed 26 of his 35 passing attempts for a 74.3% completion percentage. He threw for 302 yards, with one touchdown pass and ran for 23 yards on 10 carries.

Ben Bonga led the Thunder receiving corps with nine catches for 142 yards. Matthew Tucker had nine receptions for 41 yards.

Linebacker Clayton Reeves led the Thunder defense with 10 total tackles, including seven solo stops. Defensive lineman Caleb Kuhn tallied nine total tackles, including two sacks (minus-5 yards). Defensive back Stephen Watson also recorded nine tackles. Riley Schwartz and Jalen Shaffer each recorded eight total tackles, with Shaffer registering a tackle for lost yardage (minus-2 yards). Brayden Anthony and Sam Bell each made six total tackles, with Bell intercepting a pass. Max Wilson also recorded a key pass interception for the Thunder defense.

Trinity scored the first points of the game on the hosts' second drive of the contest. The Tigers started the drive on their own 20-yard line following a missed field goal attempt on a 24-yard kick by Wheaton on the guests' first possession of the game. Trinity marched down the field on nine plays for an 80-yard touchdown drive that concluded with a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the hosts a 7-0 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter.

The Wheaton defense stymied Trinity's offense on the Tigers' second possession of the second quarter forcing the hosts to a three-and out. Wheaton started the ensuing drive at its own 45-yard line and Bowers (PICTURED LEFT) connected with Daniel Leadbetter for a 19-yard pass the put the Thunder in Trinity territory at the Tigers' 36-yard line. On the next play, Bowers connected with Weeks in the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Wheaton converted the PAT kick that followed to tie the game at 7-7 with 28-seconds remaining in the first half.

The Tigers looked to respond quickly in the closing seconds of the first half, however, Bell intercepted a Trinity pass at the Thunder four-yard line to thwart the hosts' scoring opportunity.

The Wheaton offense was three-and-out on its first drive of the third quarter. Trinity completed its first drive of the second half with a 20-yard field goal that gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead with 8:48 left in the third quarter. The two teams traded possessions for much of the remainder of the second half.

Wheaton fair caught a Trinity punt at the Thunder 12-yard line as the guests started a drive with just 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. Bowers connected with Bonga for a 27-yard pass connection on the first play of the drive to move Wheaton to its own 39-yard line. Bowers scampered for a seven-yard run on the next paly to set up second-and-three at the Wheaton 46-yard line. Wheaton had two incompletions on the next two plays for a fourth-and-three with 39-seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Bonga caught a nine-yard pass from Bowers for a Thunder first down at the Trinity 45-yard line. The next play was a 12-yard pass from Bowers to Bonga that gave Wheaton a first-and-10 at the Tigers' 33-yard line. Following an incompletion, Bowers connected with tight end Ben Juska for an eight-yard catch as Juska alertly scampered out-of-bounds at the Trinity 25-yard line to stop the clock. Thunder senior Jack Ryken stepped onto the field and booted a 42-yard field goal to tie the game at 10-10 as regulation time expired. Ryken's kick sent the game into Wheaton's first overtime since a win at home against Millikin on October 8, 2005.

Trinity had the ball first in the opening overtime. The Tigers reached the end zone on a six-yard run on their third play of the drive. Trinity converted the PAT kick to lead Wheaton 17-10 as the Thunder offensive took the field.

Wheaton's offense efficiently made it to the two-yard line on its first two plays and Weeks scampered into the end zone on a two-yard run to trim the hosts' lead to 17-16. The Tigers' special teams unit was able to block the PAT attempt and emerge with the victory.

Wheaton will open conference play next Saturday evening. The Thunder host Illinois Wesleyan in a 6:00 p.m. kickoff at McCully Stadium.