No. 18 Thunder football team closes out the regular season with a 52-6 win at North Park

Chicago, Ill. - Wheaton Thunder Football concluded its regular season against the North Park Vikings on Saturday afternoon. The Thunder were victorious 52-6 in Chicago today. At 8–2 overall and 8–1 in CCIW play, Wheaton is a strong candidate for an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Football Championship, which starts next Saturday at campus sites. The Division III Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. (CST).

North Park started with the football in today's contest, but Wheaton was able to force a punt. The Thunder offense drove to midfield and ran a play-action. Thomas Greupner beat his man on a go route, and Mark Forcucci found him, placing the ball just over the outstretched hands of the Viking cornerback for a 52-yard touchdown.

After punts from both sides, North Park took the ball at its own 30-yard line. The Vikings dropped back to pass, and as the quarterback prepared to throw, Peter Johanik blindsided him, creating a sack and fumble that senior Maxton Leathers recovered.

That sack moved Johanik into first place on Wheaton's all-time tackles-for-loss list. Johanik left Holmgren Field today with 54.5 career tackles for loss.

The first play for the visitors resulted in their second score of the game. On another play-action pass, Forcucci found Caleb Titherington on a quick slant in the soft spot of the Vikings' zone. The quick 23-yard score made it 14–0 early.

Wheaton's fourth drive of the game started with a boost from a tight-end screen pass to Riley Howard, who rumbled for a tough 36-yard gain, the longest reception of his career. That drive resulted in a punt, but the Thunder forced a three-and-out. Malachi Jones added to the career-day theme, cruising forward for a 40-yard rush that brought the Thunder to North Park's 13. Forcucci found Titherington in the end zone once again, giving Wheaton a commanding 21–0 lead.

A six-minute, 64-yard North Park drive resulted in a touchdown, but a failed two-point conversion kept the score at 21–6. A 34-yard return from Kenny Jager set Wheaton up with great field position to score before the half closed. Two completions of 30 yards to Titherington and a 21-yard touchdown pass to Ben Juska gave Wheaton a 30-second scoring drive and Forcucci's fourth passing touchdown of the half.

With 1:26 remaining, North Park had a chance to respond with a score of its own. Senior Luca Torti had other ideas, creating Wheaton's second strip sack of the contest. Zeke Harris scooped the ball on the run and took it back for six, giving the Thunder 14 points in the span of eight seconds and a 35–6 lead heading into the half.

The Thunder wasted no time getting on the board in the second half. On their first play, Forcucci found Titherington for a 65-yard touchdown, Titherington's third of the day.

On the ensuing North Park drive, Johanik recorded his third sack of the game and his second strip sack, which was recovered by Colin Moore.

Forcucci later connected with Greupner for his sixth passing touchdown of the contest, tying Keith Bishop, Garrett Meador, Luke Anthony, and Ben Thorson for the most passing touchdowns in a single game in Wheaton football history.

The final score of today's game came on a 23-yard field goal converted by Mateo Jesch, giving Wheaton a 52–6 victory.

Forcucci racked up 282 yards, completing 13 of his 17 attempts (76.5%) with six passing touchdowns. This performance resulted in a QBR of 320.5. On the ground, Malachi Jones recorded 68 yards on eight attempts as the day's leading rusher. Titherington caught six passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns, all season highs for the senior. Greupner had two catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns, and Juska had two catches for 32 yards and a score.

On defense, Harris led in total tackles with 13, 10 of which were solo. Torti and Caleb Coburn also recorded seven and six, respectively. Johanik recorded four of Wheaton's nine tackles for loss, three of which were sacks. Torti had two TFLs; Coburn, Maison Haas, Owen Downing, and Chandler Bryant each had one. Torti and Bryant each had a sack as well.

Colin Moore added to his conference-leading interception total, snagging another one in today's action.

Note Worthy: Peter Johanik took sole possession of the program's all-time career tackles-for-loss record today with 54.5, breaking Andy Studebaker's 18-year-old mark (50.5)…Johanik also moved into fifth all-time in career sacks with 27.5 after recording three in today's game... Punter Josiah Smith is in position to shatter the single-season record for yards per punt originally set by John Bickle in 2019, as Smith is averaging 45.7 yards per punt this year, compared to Bickle's 40.6 YPP…senior quarterback Mark Forcucci has moved into 13th all-time for career total yards with 4,665 and is just 40 yards shy of 12th…Forcucci is 11th all-time in career passing yards with 4,548 and his 71% completion percentage ranks second all-time among quarterbacks with at least 300 attempts.

Thank You: Today's contest was the final one on the sideline for longtime team doctor David Watt. Thank you to Dr. Watt for his years of service to Wheaton Athletics.