Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Central College | 21 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 54 |
| Wheaton | 7 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 35 |
Wheaton Player Statistics
Passing
| Player | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds ▾ | TD | Int | Long | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Thorson | 22 | 38 | 57.9% | 235 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 135.9 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds ▾ | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giovanni Weeks | 25 | 150 | 6.0 | 1 | 18 |
| Henry Brown | 9 | 48 | 5.3 | 1 | 13 |
| Ben Thorson | 4 | -8 | -2.0 | 0 | 1 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Yds ▾ | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seth Kortenhoeven | 4 | 61 | 15.2 | 1 | 31 |
| Caleb Titherington | 5 | 60 | 12.0 | 1 | 30 |
| Ben Bonga | 5 | 58 | 11.6 | 1 | 18 |
| Giovanni Weeks | 5 | 39 | 7.8 | 0 | 13 |
| Ben Juska | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 0 | 12 |
| Randy Vojtisek | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Allen | 1 | -5 | -5.0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring
| Player | TD | FGM | PAT | PATA | Pts ▾ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giovanni Weeks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Henry Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Seth Kortenhoeven | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Caleb Titherington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Ben Bonga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Mateo Jesch | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Defense
| Player | Solo | Ast | Tot ▾ | TFL | Sacks | Int | PBU | QBH | FF | FR | Blk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgil Cannon | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Caleb McClung | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Eller | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Smith | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Johanik | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Riley Schwartz | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Wilson | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clay Campbell | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaac Parrish | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christopher Carstens | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lawson Haigler | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chase Smith | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Bonacquisti | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaden Ferlita | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Caleb Titherington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Bonga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Giovanni Weeks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Henry Brown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elijah Nitz | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Seth Kortenhoeven | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mateo Jesch | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Punting
| Player | No ▾ | Yds | Avg | Long | In20 | TB | Blk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brady Borger | 4 | 145 | 36.2 | 42 | 1 | 0 | — |
Kickoffs
| Player | No ▾ | Yds | Avg | TB | OB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Winnett | 4 | 248 | 62.0 | 2 | 1 |
Kick Returns
| Player | No | Yds ▾ | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Allen | 3 | 89 | 29.7 | 0 | 41 |
| Seth Kortenhoeven | 3 | 69 | 23.0 | 0 | 28 |
Scoring Summary
| 1st 14:16 | NCC - Sacco,Joe 73 yd run (Ryniec,Sean kick), 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:44 |
| 1st 09:27 | WHE - Bonga,Ben 14 yd pass from Thorson,Ben (Jesch,Mateo kick) 10 plays, 54 yards, TOP 04:42 |
| 1st 07:28 | NCC - Sacco,Joe 43 yd run (Ryniec,Sean kick), 4 plays, 65 yards, TOP 01:59 |
| 1st 02:04 | NCC - Lehnen,Luke 78 yd run (Ryniec,Sean kick), 3 plays, 99 yards, TOP 01:21 |
| 2nd 12:36 | NCC - Coleman,Charles 65 yd pass from Lehnen,Luke (Ryniec,Sean kick) 2 plays, 72 yards, TOP 00:55 |
| 2nd 00:37 | NCC - Chisum,Jordan 1 yd run (Ryniec,Sean kick), 6 plays, 42 yards, TOP 03:14 |
| 3rd 13:38 | WHE - Weeks,Giovanni 6 yd run (Jesch,Mateo kick), 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 01:16 |
| 3rd 09:39 | NCC - Lehnen,Luke 13 yd run (Ryniec,Sean kick), 4 plays, 70 yards, TOP 01:21 |
| 3rd 04:49 | WHE - Titherington,Caleb 30 yd pass from Thorson,Ben (Jesch,Mateo kick) 11 plays, 72 yards, TOP 04:43 |
| 3rd 00:59 | NCC - Chisum,Jordan 5 yd run ( ), 6 plays, 47 yards, TOP 03:45 |
| 4th 10:44 | NCC - Coleman,Charles 19 yd run ( ), 7 plays, 59 yards, TOP 04:10 |
| 4th 06:57 | WHE - Brown,Henry 6 yd run (Jesch,Mateo kick), 8 plays, 70 yards, TOP 03:39 |
| 4th 00:19 | WHE - Kortenhoeven,Seth 7 yd pass from Thorson,Ben (Jesch,Mateo kick) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:18 |
Team Statistics
| Statistic | Wheaton | North Central College |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 27 | 21 |
| Rushing | 11 | 15 |
| Passing | 11 | 5 |
| Penalty | 5 | 1 |
| Total (Net) | 190 | 447 |
| Attempts | 38 | 43 |
| Avg. Per Rush | 5.0 | 10.4 |
| Rushing TDs | 2 | 7 |
| Yds. Gained | 201 | 472 |
| Yds. Lost | 11 | 25 |
| Total (Net) | 235 | 166 |
| Comp.-Att.-Int. | 22 - 38 - 0 | 5 - 8 - 0 |
| Att. | 6.2 | 20.8 |
| Comp. | 10.7 | 33.2 |
| TDs | 3 | 1 |
| Yards | 425 | 613 |
| Plays | 76 | 51 |
| Play | 5.6 | 12 |
| Fumbles - Lost | 0 - 0 | 1 - 1 |
| Penalties - Yds. | 7 - 69 | 10 - 118 |
| Punts - Yds. | 4 - 145 | 2 - 74 |
| Punt | 36.2 | 37 |
| Inside 20 | 1 | 1 |
| 50+ Yds. | 0 | 0 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 1 |
| Fair Catch | 1 | 0 |
| Total - Yds. | 4 - 248 | 9 - 525 |
| Kickoff | 62.0 | 58.3 |
| Touchbacks | 2 | 2 |
| Punt: Total - Yds. - TDs | 0 - 0 - 0 | 0 - 0 - 0 |
| Return | 0 | 0 |
| Kickoff: Total - Yds. - TDs | 6 - 158 - 0 | 2 - 17 - 0 |
| Return | 26.3 | 8.5 |
| INT: Total - Yds. - TDs | 0 - 0 - 0 | 0 - 0 - 0 |
| Fumble: Total - Yds. - TDs | 0 - 0 - 0 | 0 - 0 - 0 |
| Misc. Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Poss. Time | 32:25 | 27:35 |
| 3rd. Down Conv. | 4 of 13 | 3 of 5 |
| 4th. Down Conversions | 3 of 5 | 0 of 0 |
| Red-Zone: Scores - Chances | 4 - 4 | 4 - 5 |
| Sacks: Total - Yds. | 3 - 17 | 3 - 9 |
| PAT: Total - Made | 5 - 5 | 6 - 8 |
| 2PT Conversion: Total - Made | 0 - 0 | 0 - 0 |
| Field Goals: Total - Made | 0 - 0 | 0 - 0 |
Game Recap
Wheaton College AthleticsTop-ranked North Central defeats the eighth-ranked Thunder, 54-35 in the "Battle for the Little Brass Bell"
Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton (3-1, 2-1 CCIW) and North Central (4-0, 3-0 CCIW) football teams faced each other on Saturday afternoon at Wheaton's McCully Stadium in the annual "Battle for the Little Brass Bell". The No. 1 ranked Cardinals defeated eighth-ranked Wheaton 54-35 today.
North Central's offense had 613 total yards today, with 447 rushing yards and 166 passing yards. Wheaton had 425 yards of total offense with 235 passing yards and 190 rushing yards.
Thunder quarterback Ben Thorson (Wheaton Academy) completed 22 of his 38 passing attempts for 235 yards with three touchdown passes. Caleb Titherington and Ben Bonga each caught five passes. Titherington had 60 receiving yards and Bonga had 58.
Running back Giovanni Weeks carried the ball 25 times for 150 yards, with one touchdown run, and he had five receptions for 35 yards. Weeks set Wheaton's career rushing record in the game as ended the contest with 3,252 rushing yards in his Thunder career.
Peter Johanik (left) and Caleb McClung combined with three sacks for Wheaton
Linebacker Virgil Cannon made a team-high eight total tackles, with a forced fumble to lead the Wheaton defense. Caleb McClung made six total tackles, including three tackles for lost yardage. Peter Johanik recorded two quarterback sacks (-15 yards) in the game as part of his four total tackles. Johnny Eller made five total tackles, and recovered a fumble.
North Central running back Joe Sacco carried the ball six times for 138 yards, with two touchdown runs. NCC quarterback Luke Lehnen had 13 carries for 170 yards and two touchdown runs. Lehnen completed five of his eight passes for166 yards, with one touchdown run. Linebacker Danny Nuccio had a game-high eight tackles for the NCC defense, including a quarterback sack of five yards.
North Central scored first on a 73-yard touchdown run by Sacco to give the Cardinals an early 7-0 lead. Wheaton responded on the ensuing drive with a 10-play drive that culminated with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to Bonga. The Cardinals added two more rushing touchdowns in the first quarter to lead the Thunder 21-7 at the conclusion of the opening quarter.
The Cardinals scored twice in the second quarter to lead Wheaton 35-7 at halftime. Lehnen connected with Charles Coleman on a 65-yard touchdown pass and the guests added a one-yard touchdown run.
Wheaton scored early in the third quarter on a six-yard touchdown run by Weeks. Weeks' touchdown cut the NCC lead to 35-14. Lehnen scored on a 13-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter to put the Cardinals up 42-14. Wheaton responded with an 11-play drive that concluded on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to Titherington. Titherington's touchdown cut the NCC lead to 42-21 with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter. The guests scored on a five-yard touchdown run late in the third to hold a 48-21 lead at the end of the third.
The Cardinals added one touchdown in the fourth quarter. Wheaton scored twice in the fourth quarter. Henry Brown scored on a six-yard touchdown run and Seth Kortenhoeven caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to account for the 54-35 final score.