Wheaton downs #14-ranked Illinois Wesleyan in key CCIW battle (Boxscore)

Wheaton,

Ill. Wheaton College (5-2/4-1 CCIW) played solid defense and made big plays

on both sides of the ball in a 35-21 win over #14-ranked Illinois Wesleyan

(6-1/4-1 CCIW) at Wheaton's McCully Field this afternoon. Wheaton jumped

out to a 35-7 advantage early in the fourth quarter, but the Titans scored

two touchdowns late in the game to narrow the lead to 35-21. Wheaton and

Illinois Wesleyan are now tied for second-place in the CCIW with 4-1 records

in league play. Millikin leads the conference with a 5-0 record after

a 42-21 win at home over Augustana this afternoon.

Wheaton

head coach Mike Swider said of his team's win, "This is a

huge win. It keeps us in the hunt for the conference title." He continued,

"This is a huge confidence builder for our young players. We just

be a nationally ranked team, a team that is tied for the conference lead

this is a huge step for our young players. Our seniors have beaten Illinois

Wesleyan four times in a row, but this is big for our young players."

The

Wheaton defense was led by senior linebacker J.D.

Leman (Champaign, Ill./Central) who made 10 total tackles (five solo),

with a tackle for lost yardage (-4 yards), an interception and a pass

deflection. Swider said of Leman, "JD Leman is one of the most athletic

linebackers I have ever coached". Swider continued, "The kid

makes plays just because he is an athlete. It doesn't matter if it's against

the run, blitzing, against the defense or whatever the case may be, he

makes the plays because he is a great athlete."

Wheaton's

freshman free safety Grant Tillotson (Wheaton, Ill./North)

made 11 total tackles (seven solo) with one fumble recovery. Senior defensive

end Darryn Wiebe (Belvidere,

Ill./Belvidere) made four total tackles with a forced fumble, a quarterback

sack (-8 yards) and a fumble recovery. Junior strong safety Bob Bollweg (Wheaton, Ill./North) made

four solo tackles, with an interception. Sophomore defensive tackle Dane Lundgren (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds

View) made three total tackles with two tackles for lost yardage (-8 yards)

and a quarterback sack (-8 yards).

Wheaton's

senior running back Brian Pastermack (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt

Island), the reigning CCIW "Offensive Player of the Week", ran

for 158 yards on 24 carries with three touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback

Josh Anderson (Claremont, Calif./Claremont)

completed 14 passes on 23 attempts for 122 yards with an interception

and two touchdown passes. Senior wide receiver Jeremy Amos (Austin, Texas/Westlake) had

six receptions for 50 yards with two touchdown catches. Amos also gained

71 yards on two kickoff returns, including a key 59-yard kick return late

in the second quarter. Amos' return was after the Titan's first touchdown

that was setup by an interception as the Titans had to go just four yards

to get into the end zone. Swider said of Amos' kickoff return, "The

return by Amos was a key play in the game." He continued, "They

(Illinois Wesleyan) intercepted the ball and got a touchdown that could

have made it so the score was 7-7 at halftime. Amos then set us up to

score and it changed the momentum right before the half." After his

kick return Amos caught an eight-yard pass in the end zone to give the

hosts a 14-7 lead at the intermission.

Wheaton

took a 7-0 advantage with 10:52 left in the first quarter as Pastermack

reached the end zone on a 50-yard touchdown romp. Pastermack's touchdown

capped a three-play drive of 81 yards. With 2:48 to play in the first

half Illinois Wesleyan tied the contest at 7-7 following the interception

it gained at the Wheaton four-yard line. With 00:38 left in the first

half Amos made his eight-yard touchdown catch that was setup by his 59-yard

kick return. Amos' touchdown capped an eight-play drive of 29-yards that

gave Wheaton the momentum and the halftime lead.

Wheaton took a 20-7 advantage with 8:35 left in the

third quarter thanks to a 13-yard touchdown run by Pastermack that capped

a nine-play drive of 78 yards. Wheaton began to run away with the game

when it took a 28-7 lead with 2:26 left in the third quarter when Amos

caught a six-yard touchdown toss from Josh Anderson. That pass capped

a five-play drive of 22 yards that was setup by Bollweg's first interception

of the season at the Titan 22-yard line. Pastermack gave the hosts a 35-7

lead with 13:26 left in the game on a six-yard touchdown run. His third

touchdown of the game capped a six-play drive of 26-yards that was setup

by a 30-yard punt return by sophomore Mike Whalen (Wimberley, Texas/Wimberley).

With 8:07 left in the game Illinois Wesleyan's Dave Rasho caught a 25-yard touchdown

pass. Rasho cut the Wheaton lead to 35-21 when he caught another touchdown

pass from quarterback Joel Castillo

that was 32-yard toss into the end zone.

Illinois

Wesleyan will host Carthage College next Saturday afternoon in a 7 PM

kickoff in Bloomington. Wheaton travels to Elmhurst next Saturday for

a 1 PM battle with Bluejays that can be heard on WETN-radio 88.1 FM and

on the Internet at http://www.wheaton.edu/wetn.