The Thunder football team falls to No. 1 North Central, 55-27 in the "Battle for the Little Brass Bell"

Wheaton, Ill. – The No. 18-ranked Wheaton College football team hosted top-ranked North Central College on Saturday afternoon at McCully Stadium in the annual "Battle for the Little Brass Bell". Today's meeting marked the 75th time that the Little Brass Trophy was on the line when the two DuPage County rivals meet on the gridiron. North Central defeated Wheaton 55-27 in today's meeting. Wheaton is now 2-2 on the season, with a 2-1 record in CCIW play. North Central improves to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in CCIW play.

The Wheaton offense recorded 345 total yards, with 233 passing yards and 112 rushing yards. North Central had 433 total yards of offense, gaining 291 yards on the ground, with 142 passing yards. The Cardinals achieved 23 first downs in the game, with Wheaton earning 17 first downs.

Linebacker Luca Torti led the Thunder defense with nine total tackles, a game-high tally. Fellow linebacker Johnny Eller registered eight total tackles, including six total tackles for Max Wilson and Caleb McClung. Eller (-1 yards) and Moore (-2 yards) each recorded one tackle for loss in the game.

Thunder quarterback Xaviere Jones completed 18 of his 33 passing attempts for 233 yards, with two touchdown passes. Ben Bonga (PICTURED LEFT) caught seven of Jones' passes for 73 yards, with two touchdown catches. Davis Reeves caught three passes for 59 yards. Running back Giovanni Weeks carries the ball 20 times for 71 yards, with a touchdown carry. Deuce Scott added a touchdown run for the hosts.

North Central quarterback Luke Lehnen scored on the second offensive play of the game, and he added a 14-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter to give the Cardinals a 14-0 lead. Following the Cardinals' second TD, Wheaton compiled an 11-play drive of 75 yards that concluded with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Bonga. Bonga's touchdown catch (VIDEO), and the ensuing PAT cut the NCC lead to 14-7 with 45-seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Lehnen scored on a 53-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to increase the NCC lead to 21-7 with 13:12 remaining in the first half. Weeks scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 6:55 remaining in the second quarter as Wheaton trimmed the NCC lead to 21-14. Lehnen added a 28-yard touchdown pass in the final four minutes as the Cardinals led 28-14 at halftime.

The Cardinals scored on touchdown runs of 15 yards, and eight yards, respectively in the third quarter to give the guests a 41-14 lead at the conclusion of the third quarter.

North Central added another rushing touchdown in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter to increase its lead to 48-14. Wheaton's Eli Reeves returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards to the NCC four-yard line (VIDEO). Two plays later, Scott reached the end zone on a four-yard touchdown run for the Thunder. Scott's touchdown made the score 48-21 in favor of the Cardinals with 14:33 remaining in the fourth quarter. North Central added a five-yard touchdown run with 9:24 left in the game to give the guests a 55-21 lead. Jones threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Bonga with 45-seconds left in the game, and the PAT was missed to account for the 55-27 final score.

Wheaton remains at home for its next contest. The Thunder will host Illinois Wesleyan in a 1:00 p.m. kickoff next Saturday at McCully Stadium.