Illinois Wesleyan downs Wheaton 31-13 in Bloomington (Boxscore)

Pictured left: Junior

linebacker Justin Knapp led the Wheaton defense with 16 total tackles at

Illinois Wesleyan

Bloomington, Ill.

(10/20) - The

Wheaton Thunder football team fell to 3-4 and 2-2 in conference play with

a 31-13 loss at Illinois Wesleyan (4-2/3-1) this afternoon. The Titans scored

17 points in the second quarter, capitalizing on good field position and

seven Wheaton turnovers. Today's Titan victory was the first in the last

five meetings with Wheaton and was also Illinois Wesleyan's first win at

home over Wheaton in five tries.

Wheaton was the first

team to put points on the scoreboard when Mike Whalen (Wimberley,

Texas/Wimberley) scored on a 17-yard touchdown run on the first drive of

the game with 12:06 to play in the first quarter. Whalen broke through two

Titan tacklers to streak into the end zone, giving Wheaton a 6-0 lead. Illinois

Wesleyan took a 7-6 advantage on the very next drive with a 14-play march

down the field that lasted five minutes and culminated with a one-yard touchdown

run by Pat Spangler. Illinois Wesleyan attempted a 43-yard field

goal that went through the uprights, but Wheaton was charged with a roughing

the kicker penalty that gave the Titans the ball at the Wheaton 13-yard

line and a new first down, allowing Spangler to score four plays later.

Aaron Telford gave the hosts a 14-6 lead with 9:19 to play in the

first half on a four-yard touchdown run. Telford's touchdown was setup by

an interception that was picked off by the Titans' Kevin Kaplan and

returned to the Wheaton 18-yard line. Four plays later Telford was in the

end zone. With 4:38 to play in the first half Brian Klesath gave

Illinois Wesleyan a 17-6 lead on a 28-yard field goal. Klesath's field goal

culminated a six-play drive that began at the Wheaton 36-yard line. With

00:25 to play in the first half Telford scored on a one-yard touchdown run

that gave the hosts a 24-6 lead that it held at halftime. Telaford's trip

into the end zone capped a seven-play drive that began at the Thunder 41-yard

line.

Wheaton

cut Illinois Wesleyan's lead to 24-13 with an 11-yard touchdown catch by

Brad Musso (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) from quarterback Josh

Anderson (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) with 7:32 left to play in the

game. Musso's (PICTURED RIGHT) touchdown was setup by his 16-yard punt return

to give Wheaton the ball at the Titan 28-yard line. Three plays after his

punt return Musso was in the end zone. The Titans sealed the game with 6:37

to play in the contest when Telford caught a screen pass from quarterback

Josh Akin and took it 46 yards into the end zone for a 31-13 Illinois

Wesleyan advantage

Wheaton tallied 345

total offensive yards on 65 plays for an average of 5.3 yards per play.

The guests amassed 246 passing yards on 35 attempts with 17 completions

and three interceptions, while the Thunder rushed for 99 yards on 30 attempts.

Illinois Wesleyan racked up 362 yards of total offense on 81 plays for an

average of 4.5 yards per play. The Titans completed 17 passes on 38 attempts

with one interception for 234 yards, while rushing for 128 yards.

Offensively for Wheaton

Josh Anderson completed 11 passes on 24 attempts with three interceptions

for 149 yards with one touchdown and two sacks. Neil Anderson (Clear

Lake, Texas/Clear Lake) completed six passes on 11 attempts for 98 yards

with one sack. Musso caught five passes for 104 yards with one touchdown

catch. He also returned two punts for 16 yards and returned three kickoffs

for 63 yards, tallying 183 all-purpose yards on the afternoon. Whalen was

Wheaton's leading rusher with 36 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown,

before leaving the game with an injury late in the first half.

Justin Knapp

(Ames, Iowa/Ames) led Wheaton defensively with 16 total tackles, including

11 solos, and two tackles for lost yardage (-4 yards). Junior Dane Lundgren

(Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) made seven total tackles, while sophomore

Jeff Mumm (Grapevine, Texas/Colleyville Heritage), junior Kevin

Sellers (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista) and junior John Diggs (San

Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights) each made six total tackles. Senior defensive

captain Ryan McCaffrey (Wheaton, Ill./North) grabbed Wheaton's only

interception of the afternoon, while senior Bryan Ittersagen (Wheaton,

Ill./North) broke up two passes and made four tackles.

Akin completed 17 passes

on 36 attempts with an interception and a touchdown for 234 yards. The Titan

quarterback carried the ball 10 times for 59 yards, averaging 5.9 yards

per carry. Telaford caught four passes for 71 yards with one touchdown and

carried the ball 16 times for 36 yards with two touchdown runs.

Craig Drescher

made nine total tackles for the Titan defense with one sack (-4 yards) and

fumble recovery. Mike Clark made seven total tackles with a forced

fumble and an interception. Andy Rader made seven tackles with a

sack and a fumble recovery, while Brad Andrekus and Kevin Kaplan

each grabbed an interception for the Titans.