No. 15 Thunder football team defeats No. 25 WashU 42-35

St. Louis, Mo. – The Wheaton football team, ranked 15th in this week's D3football.com Top-25 poll, traveled to St. Louis on Saturday to face No. 25 ranked WashU (7-2, 6-2 CCIW) in a key CCIW battle. Wheaton never trailed in the game and continually responded to WashU as the Thunder earned the 42-35 victory. Wheaton is now 7-2 overall and 7-1 in CCIW play.

The Thunder offense impressed today with 505 yards of total offense. Wheaton ran for 271 yards and passed for 234. The Bears recorded 386 yards of total offense, with 161 rushing yards and 225 passing yards.

Thunder quarterback Will Bowers utilized his arm and his legs today in the victory. Bowers completed 28 of his 38 passing attempts for 234 yards, with three touchdown passes. Bowers was also the second-leading rusher in the game as he ran for 124 yards on 11 carries, averaging 11.3 yards per carry.

All-American running back Giovanni Weeks was Wheaton's leading rusher with 25 carries for 145 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Weeks reached the end zone three times.

Receivers Ben Bonga and Matthew Tucker each caught a team-high seven receptions for the Thunder. Bonga had 67 receiving yards with one touchdown catch and Tucker recorded 50 receiving yards with a touchdown grab. Tyler Gautier recorded a team-high 77 receiving yards on six catches with one touchdown grab.

Linebacker Clayton Reeves (PICTURED LEFT) had a team-high nine total tackles for the Thunder defense. Jalen Shaffer made seven total tackles, including six solo stops. Riley Schwartz and Brayden Anthony each had five total tackles. Anthony, Phillip LoChirco and Dimitrie Skakavac each made a solo sack. Max Wilson and Stephen Watson each snagged an interception.

Wheaton receive the opening kickoff and scored on an eight-play drive to open the game. Weeks made his presence known with an 18-yard carry on the first play of the game to put the Thunder offense at midfield right away. Bowers had a 31-yard rush in the drive that moved Wheaton to the Bears' 14-yard line. Three plays after Bowers' long run, Weeks reached the end zone on a three-yard touchdown run. Kicker Caleb Mary converted the PAT kick to give the guests a 7-0 lead with 11:16 remaining in the first quarter. WashU responded with a 12-play drive of 67 yards that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run and PAT kick. The Bears' score tied the game at 7-7 with 5:41 left in the first quarter.

Wheaton responded with a touchdown on its next drive, a 14-play drive of 75 yards. Bowers passed to four different receivers for 45 yards on the drive and he rushed for four yards. The drive concluded with a five-yard touchdown run by Weeks, however the PAT kick failed as Wheaton held a 13-7 lead with 14:23 remaining in the second quarter. The Wheaton defense forced the Bears to punt on the hosts' next offensive drive.

The Thunder started their next drive with good field position at the Wheaton 45-yard line. Bowers had an 18-yard pass to Juska followed by a 25-yard pass to Bonga to setup first-and-10 at the Bears' 12-yard line. Bowers connected with Tucker on a 12-yard touchdown pass and he threw a two-point conversion pass that was converted to Juska as Wheaton led 21-7 with 11:25 remaining in the game. WashU quickly responded with a three-play scoring drive on the hosts' next possession. The Bears' Kenneth Hamilton scored on a 37-yard touchdown run and the hosts converted the PAT kick to cut Wheaton's lead to 21-14 with 10:14 remaining in the second quarter. Wheaton punted for the first time in the game on the next drive. On the first play of the next drive, WashU quarterback Matt Rush connected with Treyton Lamphier on a 77-yard touchdown pass. The Bears converted the PAT kick to tie the game at 21-21 with 7:59 remaining in the first half.

Wheaton responded with a lengthy 16-play drive that moved 71 yards and lasted 6:19. The drive concluded with a three-yard touchdown rush by Weeks (PICTURED RIGHT), and Mary converted the PAT kick as Wheaton held a 28-21 lead with 1:40 left in the first half. WashU moved the ball to the Thunder 36-yard line and went for it on fourth down with approximately 20-seconds left before halftime. Defensive back Max Wilson intercepted the pass on fourth down to stall the Bears' drive as his INT allowed Wheaton to hold a 28-21 lead at halftime.

The Bears received the kickoff to open the second half. Thunder defensive end Brayden Anthony recorded a seven-yard sack of rush on the first play of half. Led by Anthony's sack, the Thunder defense forced the Bears into a three-and-out as the hosts punted. Wheaton responded on its first offensive drive of the second half with a lengthy 14-play drive of 86 yards. Bowers passed for 44 yards and ran for 40 yards on the drive. The Thunder quarterback threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Bonga and Mary converted the PAT kick to give Wheaton a 35-21 lead with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter.

On the Bears' next offensive drive, the hosts put together their own lengthy drive of 11 plays and 77 yards. The drive ended in the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run by Hamilton. WashU converted the PAT kick to trim Wheaton's lead to 35-28 with 14:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. Wheaton responded with a touchdown on its next drive, however, this was a quick four-play drive. Weeks had a key 41-yard rush on the scoring drive that culminated with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Bowers to Gautier. Mary made the PAT attempt as Wheaton led 42-28 with 11:08 remaining in the game. The Wheaton stopped WashU on fourth-and-two on the Bears' next drive as Reeves made a tackle that prevented Rush from reaching the first down marker.

Wheaton turned the ball over on downs in the ensuing Thunder drive. WashU again went for it on fourth down and this time it was defensive back Stephen Watson with an interception to stall the hosts' drive as Wheaton regained the ball at the Bears' 40-yard line with 4:27 left in the game. Wheaton turned the ball over on downs on that drive. The Bears strung together an eight-play drive of 69 yards that concluded with a 23-yard touchdown catch by Hamilton followed by a PAT kick. The Bears' score trimmed Wheaton's lead to 42-35 with 1:11 remaining in the game. Wheaton's McNeill Stout recovered the Bears' onside kick attempt and Wheaton was able to move the ball and run out the clock to secure the win.