Wheaton defeats UW-Stout 35-32 to win the Culver's Isthmus Bowl

Sun Prairie, Wis. – The Wheaton football team closed out its season on Saturday afternoon in the fourth annual Culver's Isthmus Bowl. Wheaton (9-2) defeated UW-Stout 35-32 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

The Thunder jumped out to a 28-10 lead in the first half as Wheaton led by that margin at halftime. Wheaton is the first CCIW team to earn a victory in the Isthmus Bowl, snapping a 3-0 start by Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) teams in the upstart bowl game.

Wheaton tallied 440 yards of total offense as the Thunder passed for 376 yards and ran for 64. The Blue Devils had 354yards of total offense, with 289 yards through the air and 65 yards on the ground.

Quarterback Mark Forcucci completed 23 of his 31 passing attempts on the day. Forcucci passed for 376 yards, with two touchdown tosses. Forcucci carried the ball 13 times with one rushing touchdown to his credit. Giovanni Weeks ran for 50 yards with one touchdown run.

Senior wide receiver Ben Bonga (PICTURED LEFT) caught five passes for 114 yards with one touchdown catch. His touchdown tied Wheaton's single-season record for touchdown receptions as he matches the 19 TD catches by Alex Pokorny in 2008. Davis Reeves had five catches for the Thunder, with 74 receiving yards. Breck Peacock collected a touchdown catch for the 'Orange and Blue'.

Johnny Eller made a game-high 10 total tackles, with two passes broken up, and a quarterback hurry. Peter Johanik made nine total tackles, including six solo stops. Johanik registered 3.5 tackles for loss (-35 yards), including two quarterback sacks. He forced a fumble and had two quarterback hurries. Caleb McClung and Chase Smith each made eight total tackles.

The Thunder scored touchdowns on their first four offensive drives of the game. Wheaton took the game's opening kickoff, and they had a 13-play drive of 88 yards that culminated with a Bonga's record-tying touchdown catch and a PAT kick by Mateo Jesch that gave the Thunder a 7-0 lead with 8:06 remaining in the first quarter. Prior to the touchdown, Forcucci connected with tight end Randy Vojtisek for a 15-yard pass that moved Wheaton from the 50-yard line to the Blue Devils' 35-yard line. On the next play, Forcucci threw the 35-yard touchdown pass to Bonga that tied the single-season touchdown reception record.

The Blue Devils started their first offensive drive at the Wheaton 40-yard line following a Wheaton onside kick effort that did not go the necessary distance. The Thunder defense stymied the Stout offense to force a turnover on downs as Wheaton started its next drive at its own 33-yard line. Wheaton methodically moved the ball down the field on its next drive. The Thunder offense was at the Blue Devils' 25-yard line when Forcucci connected with running back Deuce Scott on a 20-yard pass to move the Thunder to the Stout five-yard line. Scott rushed the ball up the middle on the very next play for a five-yard touchdown run, followed by Jesch's PAT kick to put Wheaton up 14-0 with 2:48 remaining in the first quarter.

Forcucci connected with Peacock on back-to-back plays for Wheaton's third touchdown. Peacock caught a screen pass from Forcucci that went for 13 yards to put Wheaton the Stout 39-yard line. The next connection between the two was a 39-yard pass to Peacock that gave the Thunder a 21-0 lead with 13:26 left in the second quarter. The Wheaton defense forced a Blue Devils' three-and-out on the next drive. Forcucci followed that with a seven-yard touchdown run to put the Thunder up 28-0 with 3:41 left in the first half. Stout quarterback Adam Moen scored on a two-yard touchdown run and the Blue Devils kicked a 38-yard field goal with time expired as they trimmed Wheaton's lead to 28-10 at the halftime intermission.

The two teams traded a pair of drives to open the third quarter. The Blue Devils were the first team to reach the scoreboard in the third quarter when Moen threw an 11-yard touchdown pass followed by a PAT attempt as UW-Stout trimmed the Thunder lead to 28-17 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.

The Blue Devils struck again with the first points of the fourth quarter when Moen threw a two-yard touchdown pass. The Thunder defense stuffed the ensuing two-point conversion as Wheaton led 28-23 with 11:27 remaining in the third quarter.

Wheaton responded with a key five-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in with a one-yard touchdown run by Weeks. Jesch kicked the PAT to put Wheaton up 35-23 with 9:28 remaining in the game. The Blue Devils' next drive moved all the way to the Wheaton three-yard line as they had first-and-goal at the Thunder three-yard line. The Wheaton defense shined in the situation, pushing Stout back six yards and forcing a turnover on downs. A key moment was Max Wilson's pass breakup on third down in the end zone to prevent an apparent Stout touchdown. The Blue Devils' turnover on downs and a Thunder penalty forced Wheaton to start its next drive at its own four-yard line. On the second play of the drive, a Thunder fumble went out of the end zone for a safety as the Blue Devils trimmed Wheaton's lead to 35-25 with 4:38 left in the game.

The Blue Devils' next drive started at the Wheaton 45-yard line. On an early third-and-ten an apparent pick-six by Chase Smith was called back by a Thunder penalty to give UW-Stout some life in the game. Later in the drive on third-and-five at the Wheaton 12, the Thunder defense appeared to record a sizable sack, but a Wheaton penalty negated the defensive effort and gave the Blue Devils first-and-goal at the Wheaton six-yard line. Moen threw a six-yard touchdown pass, followed by a PAT kick as the Blue Devils cut the Wheaton lead to 35-32 with 2:29 remaining in the game.

UW-Stout's onside kick attempt was not recovered by the Blue Devils, as Wheaton started the next drive at its own 49-yard line. The Thunder got a needed first down on third-and-two as Wheaton was able to run out the clock and earn the historic win as the first CCIW victor of the Culver's Isthmus Bowl.

NOTE WORTHY: In addition to setting the single-season touchdown receptions record, Bonga became just the fourth Wheaton wide receiver to record 3,000 receiving yards in a career with his outstanding 2024 campaign...Bonga ends the season with 3,008 career receiving yards as he moved into fourth on the program's all-time receiving yards list...Bonga joins Weeks on Wheaton's all-time scoring list as he is 10th all-time on the program's list with 210 career points...Johanik (PICTURED LEFT) finishes the 2024 season with 11 sacks this year, the highest single-season sack total for the Thunder since Dallas McRae had 13 in 2021...Johanik's 11 sacks is tied for the seventh-highest single-season sack total in team history.

NOTE WORTHY GIOVANNI WEEKS EDITION: Today's game was the 45th and final game in a Wheaton uniform for Weeks who will depart Wheaton as the program's all-time record holder in rushing yards (5,324), yards per carry (6.6 YPC), all-purpose yards (6,703), rushing TD's (69), total TD's (81), and scoring (488 points)...Weeks' 488 career points ranks 10th in Division III history...his 6,703 career all-purpose yards ranks 20th in Division III history...his 5,324 career rushing yards ranks 22nd in the Division III record books...his 10.8 PPG scoring average is 25th in Division III history.