Nov 15, 2014

#9-Thunder football team defeats Carthage 21-2 to earn its first outright CCIW Championship since 2003

Kenosha, Wis. – The Wheaton football team completed an undefeated regular season on Saturday with a 21-2 victory at Carthage College. Wheaton ends the regular season 10-0 for the first time since 2003. Wheaton's flawless 7-0 record gives the Thunder its second CCIW Championship in three years (last winning a share of the title in 2012), but it is Wheaton first outright CCIW Championship since 2003.

Wheaton has earned the CCIW's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs. The NCAA will announce the tournament bracket and pairings on Sunday at www.ncaa.com. Wheaton is ranked ninth in Division III this week by both D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association.

Wheaton put together 362 yards of total offense on Saturday, with 252 passing yards and 110 rushing yards. Carthage tallied just 265 yards of offense with 192 passing yards and 73 rushing yards.

Wheaton quarterback Johnny Peltz completed 19 of his 30 passing attempts for 252 yards with three touchdown passes. Peltz (PICTURED LEFT) also ran for 68 yards on 12 carries. Jesse Geary carried the ball 11 times for 31 yards and he caught three passes for 50 yards. Senior Luke Thorson caught six passes for 81 yards, with two touchdown receptions.

Adam Dansdill led the Thunder defense with 11 tackles, including a tackle for lost yardage of two yards. He also intercepted a pass on the day. Alex Mendez and Mikey Swider each collected six total tackles on the afternoon. Michael Risher and Caleb Ashby tallied five total tackles apiece. Ashby led the Thunder with two tackles for lost yardage (-2) yards. Logan McRae and Jared Todd each had a QB sack in the game and Wes Cannonier added interception.

Red Men quarterback Nick Anzelmo was 21-for-35 passing on the day with 192 passing yards. Tyler Walsh led the Carthage running game with 11 carries for 39 yards. James Cobbs caught eight passes for 88 yards. K.J. Simpson led the Carthage defense with 10 total tackles, including two tackles for lost yardage (-3 yards).

Carthage took the opening kickoff and after the Red Men drive stalled at the Wheaton 42-yard line the hosts' punt was downed at the Thunder 21-yard line. On Wheaton's first drive, a Wheaton miscue on fourth down resulted in a Carthage safety that gave the Red Men a 2-0 lead with 10:04 remaining in the first quarter. Wheaton's second drive of the game was a long march of 15 plays down the field, racking up 72 yards. Wheaton's first TD of the game came as Peltz connected with Thorson on a four-yard touchdown pass to give Wheaton a 7-2 lead with 45-seconds remaining in the first quarter. Wheaton led the Red Men 7-2 at halftime.

Wheaton capitalized on the opening drive of the second half as the Thunder utilized a six-play drive of 75 yards that culminated with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Peltz to Thorson (PICTURED LEFT) as Wheaton increased its lead to 14-2 with 12:29 remaining in the third quarter. Peltz's third touchdown of the day was a 13-yard TD pass from to Matt Mitchell with 8:29 left in the fourth quarter to account for the final score of 21-2.Print Friendly Version