Thunder football falls in a heartbreaker to Bethel, 34-32 in the NCAA Playoffs
Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton College football team hosted Bethel University (Minn.) on Saturday afternoon under frigid, windy and snowy conditions for a First-Round matchup of the 2022 NCAA Division III Playoffs. The Royals edged the Thunder in a tightly contested matchup, 34-32. Wheaton concludes the season with an 8-3 record on the year. Bethel advances to the second round with a 9-2 overall record.
The Wheaton offense had 424 yards of total offense, averaging 6.7 yards per play. The Thunder ran for 241 yards and passed for 183. Bethel averaged 5.5 yards per play on its 338 yards of offense in the game. The Royals ran for 197 yards and passed for 141.
Senior running back Giovanni Weeks carried the ball 25 times for 182 yards with three touchdown runs. He also caught two passes for 11 yards with one touchdown catch. Weeks now has 24 total touchdowns this season as he broke his own school record for touchdowns in a single season during today's performance.
Thunder quarterback Will Bowers completed 20 of his 26 passing attempts for 183 yards. Bowers had two interceptions and one touchdown pass on the day. Tyler Gautier caught five passes for 71 yards. Matthew Tucker collected five receptions for 30 yards.
Linebacker Jalen Shaffer led the Wheaton defense with 12 total tackles, including 10 solos. Shaffer also broke up one pass, had a quarterback hurry and a ½ a tackle for loss (-1 yards). Sam Bell recorded six total tackles, including five solo tackles. Caleb Kuhn (PICTURED LEFT WITH CLAYTON REEVES) recorded five total tackles with four solos. Clayton Reeves, Virgil Cannon and Brayden Anthony each tallied four total tackles.
Bethel took the opening kickoff today and worked down the field for a drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Bryce Kunkle. The Royals converted the PAT kick and led Wheaton 7-0 with 8:05 remaining in the first quarter. The Bethel defense stymied the Thunder offense on Wheaton's first drive and held the hosts to a three-and-out. Bethel responded on its next offensive drive with a quick five-play drive of 81 yards that culminated with a nine-yard touchdown rush by David Geebli and a converted PAT kick to give the guests a 14-0 lead with 4:20 remaining in the first quarter.
Wheaton's offense clicked on the drive that followed. On the sixth play of the drive with Wheaton at third-and-two at the Bethel 46-yard line, Bowers (PICTURED RIGHT) connected with Gautier on a 36-yard pass that moved the Thunder to the Bethel 10-yard line. Three plays later, Weeks scored on a one-yard touchdown run. The PAT kick was no good as the Royals led 14-6 with 14:57 remaining in the second quarter. The Wheaton defense responded on the guests' next drive as the Bethel offense was three-and-out as the Thunder D-line came up big. The Wheaton offense took the ball and Weeks ran for 70 yards on the drive that ensued. He had a 41-yard rush in the drive that ended with an eight-yard run for the senior into the end zone. Wheaton's two-point conversion attempt that followed was no good as Bethel led by two points at 14-12 with 7:31 remaining in the first half. Bethel maintained the 14-12 lead at the halftime intermission.
On the first play of the Wheaton offensive drive to open the second half, Bethel's Devin Williams picked off a Wheaton pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. The PAT kick that followed was good to extend Bethel's lead to 21-12 with 14:45 remaining in the third quarter. Wheaton responded with an eight-play drive of 64 yards on the ensuing drive that concluded with a four-yard touchdown run by Weeks. Caleb Mary's PAT kick was good as the host trimmed Bethel's lead to 21-19 with 10:41 left in the third quarter. The two teams continued to trade punches as Bethel countered with a 12-play drive of 75 yards that concluded on a one-yard touchdown run by Kunkle. The guests converted the PAT kick to extend their lead to 28-19 with 4:20 remaining in the third.
The Thunder running game again looked strong on the drive that followed. The 11-play drive of 65 yards ended on a five-yard touchdown run by Weeks. Mary's PAT kick was good as Wheaton cut the deficit to two points at 28-26 with 14:55 remaining in the fourth quarter. Wheaton tried a quick onside kick on the ensuing kickoff; however, the ball made it 9-1/2 yards and did not get the necessary 10 yards to make the Thunder eligible to recover it and Bethel started its drive at the Thunder 44-yard line. The Royals chewed up 7:21 of time on the clock in a 13-play drive that ended on a four-yard touchdown pass by from Jaran Raste to Joey Kidder. The Royals had a miscue attempt on the PAT kick that failed as the guests led by eight points at 34-26 with 7:31 remaining in the game.
The Thunder offense regained the ball at its own 25-yard line. A roughing the passer penalty against Bethel occurred on the second play of the drive to send the Thunder to midfield. Weeks had runs of 10 and 13 yards on the drive that concluded with him reaching the end zone on a two-yard touchdown run to cut the Royals' lead to 34-32 with 3:10 left in the game. Wheaton attempted a two-point conversion to tie the game, however the rush attempt was no good and Bethel maintained its narrow two-point lead. Bethel regained the ball, and the guests had a key third-down conversion on a six-yard pass. Two plays later, after Wheaton took its final timeout, Roste had a 15-yard run that gave Bethel a first down and secured the game for the guests as the Royals took a knee on the next three plays to run out the clock.
