No. 15 Thunder football team defeats Carthage 59-24

Kenosha, Wis. – The 15th-ranked football team earned a 59-24 victory at Carthage College (2-4, 2-3 CCIW) on Saturday afternoon. The Thunder jumped out to a 21-0 lead today and never trailed in the contest against the Firebirds. Wheaton improves to 4-2 on the season with a 4-1 record in conference play.

The Wheaton offense was productive today as the Thunder amassed 623 yards of total offense. The guests passed for 373 yards and ran for 250 yards on the ground. Carthage recorded 326 yards of offense in the game, with 217 passing yards and 109 rushing yards.

Thunder quarterback Will Bowers (PICTURED LEFT) completed 27 of his 36 passing attempts for 344 yards, with five touchdown passes. Jeremiah Tucker was 4-for-8, passing for 22 yards. Tucker ran the ball nine times for 60 yards.

Tyler Gautier caught seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdown catches. Ben Bonga caught seven passes for 88 yards in a strong outing. Running back Cristian Carstens ran for a career-high 155 yards, with one touchdown run.

Thunder linebacker Jalen Shaffer (PICTURED RIGHT) led the Wheaton defense with nine total tackles, including seven solo stops. Shaffer tallied a tackle for loss (minus-1 yards) and he forced a fumble. Defensive end Brayden Anthony recorded six total tackles, with 1-1/2 tackles for loss (minus-2 yards). Caleb Kuhn and Philip LoChirco each had five total tackles. Kuhn tallied 2-1/2 sacks (minus-8 yards) and LoChirco had a one-yard sack.

Wheaton received the opening kickoff and had a lengthy drive of 11 plays and 65 yards that culminated with a six-yard touchdown run by Giovanni Weeks to give the Thunder a 7-0 lead with 9:09 remaining in the first quarter. Gautier caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Bowers on Wheaton's second drive to give Wheaton a 14-0 lead with eight seconds left in the first quarter.

Bowers connected with Matthew Tucker on a nine-yard touchdown pass with 4:36 remaining in the first half to extend Wheaton's lead to 21-0. Carthage's first points came on a nine-yard touchdown run with 1:13 remaining in the first half to make the score 21-6. Thunder kicker Caleb Mary booted a 41-yard field goal with 10-seconds left in the first half to give Wheaton a 24-6 lead at halftime.

Gautier caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Bowers with 12:34 remaining in the third quarter to give Wheaton a 31-6 lead. Carthage scored on a 36-yard touchdown pass to trim Wheaton's lead to 31-12 with 10:55 remaining in the third. Bowers connected with McNeill Stout on a three-yard touchdown pass that increased Wheaton's lead to 38-12 with 7:41 remaining in the third. Carstens (PICTURED LEFT) caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Bowers with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter to increase the Thunder lead to 45-12.

Early in the fourth quarter, Carthage fumbled the ball at its own 24-yard and the ball was recovered by LoChirco. Two plays after the fumble, running back Jack Allen reached the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run to increase Wheaton's lead to 52-12 with 13:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. Carthage quickly responded with a 67-yard touchdown pass to make the scored 52-18 with 12:19 left in the game. Carstens scored on an 82-yard run on the next drive to give Wheaton a 59-18 lead with 10:52 remaining in the contest. Carthage tallied the final points of the game as the Firebirds had a 29-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds to account for the 59-24 final score.

Wheaton hosts Carroll next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in a CCIW matchup at McCully Stadium.