No. 12 Wheaton rallies for a dramatic 36-35 victory against WashU with no time remaining

Wheaton, Ill. – The 12th-ranked Wheaton football team earned a dramatic 36-35 win against Washington University in St. Louis today with no time left on the clock. Wheaton improves to 8-1 overall and 7-1 in CCIW play.

Senior quarterback Ben Thorson's 34-yard Hail Mary pass was caught in the end zone over five defenders by Seth Kortenhoeven to cut the WashU lead to 35-34. The Thunder kicking team came onto the field for a PAT kick attempt when WashU called time out. When the timeout concluded Wheaton's offense came back on the field for a two-point conversion attempt. Thorson tossed the ball to All-American running back Giovanni Weeks who got the ball into the end zone on a pitch to his left for the dramatic 36-35 Wheaton win.

Wheaton was in the come-from-behind position because the Bears scored on a three-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Hamilton with 1:10 remaining in the fourth quarter that put WashU up 35-28. The Bears completed a 26-yard pass on the play that preceded Hamilton's touchdown to give the guests a first-and-goal situation at the Wheaton three-yard line with a little more than a minute remaining. The Wheaton defense then allowed Hamilton to make it into the end zone to give Wheaton as much time as possible for the Thunder offense to pull of its dramatic rally.

The Wheaton offense put up 443 yards today, with 266 passing yards and 177 rushing yards. The Bears had 468 yards of total offense as the guests passed for 350 yards and ran for 118 yards.

Weeks carried the ball 30 times today for 172 rushing yards. He also caught two passes for 11 receiving yards.

Thorson completed 16 of his 28 passing attempts for 266 yards through the air. All five Wheaton touchdowns today came through the air on Thorson passes and he did not have an interception.

Kortenhoeven caught six passes today, with three touchdown receptions. He amassed 164 receiving yards on the day. Ben Bonga caught six passes for 78 yards with one touchdown reception.

Linebacker Lawson Haigler led the Wheaton defense with 13 total tackles. Fellow linebacker Caleb McClung added 10 total tackles. Dimitri Cannon and Johnny Eller each had eight total tackles, with seven tackles apiece for Peter Johanik and Max Wilson. Johanik (PICTURED RIGHT) had 1-1/2 tackles for loss (-3 yards), including a quarterback sack (-1 yard).

WashU scored first in today's game with a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Rush to Collin Hoyhtya that gave the guests a 7-0 lead with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter. Wheaton responded in the second quarter when it capped off an 11-play drive of 75 yards with a three-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to Caleb Titherington. Titherington's TD tied the contest at 7-7 with 12:35 remaining in the second quarter. WashU kicker Chris Vartanian made a 22-yard field goal with 7:37 left in the first half to give the guests a 10-7 lead. Wheaton quickly responded on its next drive with a touchdown. Thorson connected with Kortenhoeven on a 48-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the drive that followed Vartanian's touchdown pass. Kortenhoeven's touchdown allowed Wheaton to regain the lead with a 14-10 lead with 6:05 left in the second quarter. Vartanian kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to end the first half as Wheaton led the Bears 14-13 at the halftime intermission.

The Bears started the second half with an impressive six-play drive of 78 yards that culminated with a five-yard touchdown run by Levi Moore to give the guests a 20-14 lead with 11:55 remaining in the third quarter. Early in the drive, Rush completed passes of 33 and 29 yards to get his team into the red zone. Each team traded drives after Moore's touchdown. Wheaton then accomplished a seven-play drive of 76 yards that concluded on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to Bonga. Bonga's TD reception put the Thunder back on top with a 21-20 lead with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter.

Wheaton's second drive of the fourth quarter started at the hosts' own 41-yard line and Weeks (PICTURED LEFT) amassed 30 rushing yards on the first four plays of the drive. Thorson followed Weeks' four carries with a six-yard pass to Bonga and a 23-yard touchdown pass to Kortenhoeven that extended Wheaton's lead to 28-20 with 8:57 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Washington responded on its next drive with an eight-play drive of 78 yards that culminated with an eight-yard touchdown run by Fred Ware. The Bears accomplished a two-point conversion pass to tie the contest at 28-28 with 4:55 left in the game. The Wheaton drive that followed was aided by a 21-yard kickoff return by Titherington that allowed the Thunder to start at its own 39-yard line. The drive stalled and Wheaton turned the ball over on downs at its own 48-yard line with 2:59 left in the game. The Bears' drive that followed ended with Hamilton's touchdown run.

Wheaton will conclude the regular season next Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. kickoff at North Park.Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#13

Lawson Haigler

LB

6' 1"

Junior

#54

Peter Johanik

DL

6' 1"

Sophomore

#11

Caleb Titherington

WR

5' 10"

Sophomore

#30

Giovanni Weeks

RB

6' 0"

Senior

#12

Max Wilson

DB

6' 4"

Junior

#15

Ben Bonga

WR

6' 2"

Junior

#43

Tiger Cannon

DB

5' 9"

Junior

#34

Johnny Eller

LB

5' 11"

Junior

#42

Caleb McClung

LB

5' 10"

Junior

#5

Ben Thorson

QB

6' 3"

Senior

Players Mentioned

#13

Lawson Haigler

6' 1"

Junior

LB

#54

Peter Johanik

6' 1"

Sophomore

DL

#11

Caleb Titherington

5' 10"

Sophomore

WR

#30

Giovanni Weeks

6' 0"

Senior

RB

#12

Max Wilson

6' 4"

Junior

DB

#15

Ben Bonga

6' 2"

Junior

WR

#43

Tiger Cannon

5' 9"

Junior

DB

#34

Johnny Eller

5' 11"

Junior

LB

#42

Caleb McClung

5' 10"

Junior

LB

#5

Ben Thorson

6' 3"

Senior

QB

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