No. 11 Thunder football team earns a 38-28 road win at Augustana

Rock Island, Ill. - The Thunder football team returned to the road on Saturday evening for its first CCIW game away from McCully Stadium for the 2022 season. The 11th-ranked Thunder defeated the host Vikings of Augustana College 38-28 in Rock Island this evening.

Wheaton improves to 2-1 on the year, with a 2-0 record in CCIW play. Augustana falls to 2-1 on the season, with a 1-1 mark in CCIW play.

The Thunder offense amassed 511 yards of total offense tonight, rushing for 327 yards, with 184 passing yards. Augustana had 391 yards of total offense as the ran for just 31 yards and passed for 360 yards.

All-American running back Giovanni Weeks carried the ball 36 times for 266 yards, averaging a stout 7.4 yards per carry. Weeks' 266 rushing yards is the most by a Wheaton ball carrier since Sola Olateju ran for 273 yards at Carroll on November 11, 2017. Kyle Carter had a 40-yard touchdown run to aid Wheaton's running game tonight.

Quarterback Will Bowers completed 11 of his 19 passing attempts, with one touchdown pass and an interception. Bowers threw for 184 yards, including 146 yards to receiver Ben Bonga who recorded seven catches for 146 yards with one touchdown.

Riley Schwartz collected two interceptions, including a return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Linebacker Jalen Shaffer was credited with eight total tackles on Saturday, including six solo stops. Defensive back Stephen Watson had six total tackles, and linebacker Virgil Cannon tallied four tackles. Senior defensive end Brayden Anthony (PICTURED LEFT) recorded a quarterback sack of eight yards and forced a fumble. Sam Bell also forced a fumble for Wheaton and intercepted a pass.

Augustana scored on a four-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the game as the hosts took a 7-0 lead with 10:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. The touchdown pass from Viking quarterback Thomas Hall to Ian Gorken capped a lengthy eight-play drive of 71 yards. Bell intercepted a pass by Hall in the endzone with 4:59 left in the first quarter, and the touchback gave Wheaton the ball for its third offensive possession. Seven plays and 80 yards after Bell's interception, Bowers scored on a four-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:30 remaining in the first quarter. The key play in the touchdown drive was a 48-yard pass from Bowers to Bonga on the second play of the drive.

Augustana responded on its next drive with a five-play drive of 69 yards that culminated on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Liam Crawley to Bobby Inserra. Inserra's touchdown catch gave the Vikings a 14-7 lead with 14:53 remaining in the second quarter. Wheaton responded with a touchdown on the drive that followed. On the fourth play of the drive, Bowers connected with Bonga for a 37-yard pass that gave Wheaton the ball at the Augustana 22-yard line. Following Bonga's catch, Weeks had runs of 13 and seven yards to give Wheaton a second-and-goal at the Augustana two-yard line. Bowers ran the ball into the end zone on a two-yard run and Wheaton converted the PAT to tie the game at 14-14 with 11:32 left in the second quarter.

Augustana followed Bowers' touchdown with a lengthy drive of more than five minutes and 12 plays, but the Thunder defense stalled the Vikings' drive and forced a punt. On the second play of the drive that followed Weeks ran for 36 yards to advance Wheaton to the Vikings' 40-yard line. The next play was a 40-yard touchdown run by Kyle Carter that gave Wheaton a 21-14 lead with 5:05 remaining in the first half. Wheaton held a 21-14 lead at halftime.

The Thunder offense took to the field to open the second half and scored on the opening drive of the third quarter. The nine-play drive started with a 23-yard run by Weeks. As the drive continued, Wheaton moved the ball 77 yards and the drive culminated with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Bowers to Bonga (PICTURED RIGHT). Bonga's touchdown catch increased Wheaton's lead to 28-14 with 10:18 remaining in the third quarter. Later in the quarter the Thunder defense stymied the Vikings offense on a drive late in the quarter. The drive ended when Hall's pass was intercepted by Riley Schwartz and returned for a touchdown. Schwartz's TD increased Wheaton's lead to 35-14 with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter.

The Vikings scored on a four-yard touchdown run with 11:49 remaining in the fourth quarter to trim Wheaton's lead to 35-21. Wheaton's next drive stalled and the Vikings' drive that followed concluded with a touchdown as Hall threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Gorken. The touchdown toss cut Wheaton's advantage to 35-28 with 7:39 remaining in the game. Wheaton responded with a long 12-play drive of 70 yards that chewed 5:50 off the clock. The drive ended with a 22-yard field goal by Caleb Mary to give the Thunder a 10-point lead at 38-28 with 1:48 remaining in the game. Weeks carried the ball eight times in the 12-play drive as he totaled 43 rushing yards in the drive.

Augustana's next drive ended on an interception and long return by Schwartz to secure the win for the Thunder as the guests kneeled down on the following two plays.

Wheaton remains on the road next week as the Thunder travel to top-ranked North Central for the annual "Battle for the Little Brass Bell". The 6:00 p.m. matchup between nationally ranked foes will be the 103rd all-time meeting between the two rivals and the 70th time they have met for the "Little Brass Bell" since the trophy was introduced in 1946.