No. 12 Wheaton football wraps up the regular season with a 42-26 victory at North Park

Chicago, Ill. – The Wheaton football team wrapped up its regular season schedule on Saturday afternoon with a 42-26 victory at North Park (5-5, 4-5 CCIW). Wheaton improves to 9-1 overall and 8-1 in CCIW play. The Thunder are a strong candidate for an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs when pairings are announced by the NCAA on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. (CST). The selection show will be available at ncaa.com on Sunday.

The Thunder offense racked up 438 yards of total offense this afternoon, with 239 passing yards and 199 rushing yards. In Wheaton's 58 plays the Thunder averaged 7.6 yards per play. The Vikings recorded 356 yards of total offense with 113 rushing yards and 273 passing yards. North Park ran 83 plays on offense, averaging 4.3 yards per play.

Thunder quarterback Ben Thorson completed 22 of his 29 passing attempts for a 75.9% passing percentage in the game. Thorson threw four touchdown passes on the afternoon.

All-American running back Giovanni Weeks (PICTURED LEFT) carried the ball 19 times for 128 yards with two touchdown carries. Weeks also caught six passes for 60 yards with a pair of touchdown receptions.

Tight end Ben Juska tied Weeks for Wheaton's receptions lead with six catches for 47 yards and a touchdown reception. Caleb Titherington had five catches for 70 yards. Ben Bonga caught three passes for 27 yards with a touchdown catch.

Linebacker Caleb McClung led the Wheaton defense with seven total tackles, including four solo stops. Defensive end Peter Johanik made six solo tackles, including two tackles for lost yardage (-7 yards). Linebacker Johnny Eller made six total tackles, including five solo stops. Eller recorded two tackles for lost yardage (-4 yards), and he broke up one pass. Max Wilson had six total tackles, including four solos, with two passes broken up.

The Thunder gained a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter when Thorson threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to to Bonga with 10:07 remaining in the first quarter.

Thorson and Weeks connected on a seven-yard touchdown pass with 10:37 remaining in the second quarter to extend Wheaton's lead to 14-0. North Park put its first points on the scoreboard with a six-yard touchdown pass that cut Wheaton's lead to 14-7 with 3:59 remaining in the first half. Wheaton responded with an 11-play drive that covered 75 yards that was capped off by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to Weeks with 28 seconds left in the first half. The third touchdown of the first half for Weeks increased Wheaton's lead to 21-7 at the halftime intermission.

Wheaton's Seth Kortenhoeven returned the second half's opening kickoff 32 yards to the Wheaton 37-yard line. The kickoff setup an nine-play drive of 63 yards that concluded with a nine-yard touchdown run for Weeks. His third touchdown of the game increased the guests' lead to 28-7 with 9:35 remaining in the third quarter. The Wheaton defense impressed on the ensuing North Park drive as Thunder "D" forced the Vikings to turn the ball over on downs at the NPU 29-yard line. On the very first play of Wheaton's next offensive drive, Weeks had a 28-yard carry to move the ball to the one-yard line. Two plays later Weeks reached the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run that increased the Thunder lead to 35-7 with 7:21 left in the third quarter. North Park capitalized on a Wheaton turnover late in the third quarter as the hosts put together a 28-yard drive that concluded with a 12-yard touchdown pass the trimmed Wheaton's lead to 35-13 with 2:20 left in the third quarter. North Park attempted an onside kick on the ensuing drive, however it was recovered by Wheaton at the NPU 45-yard line. Four plays later, Thorson connected with Juska on a 17-yard touchdown pass that extended Wheaton's lead to 42-13 with 44-seconds left in the third quarter.

North Park scored twice in the fourth quarter. The Vikings had a 17-yard touchdown run early in the final quarter and the hosts had a 17-yard touchdown pass late in the game to account for the 42-26 final score.