Thunder gridders earn an impressive 30-14 victory against Carthage

Wheaton, Ill. (10/28) The Thunder football team played well in all facets of the game today to earn a 30-14 victory (Boxscore) against Carthage this afternoon. Today's victory was the 25th consecutive win by the Thunder on McCully Field. Wheaton is now 6-2 overall and 3-2 in CCIW play, while Carthage falls to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in conference play. The Thunder will play its final road game of the regular season next Saturday in a 1 PM kickoff at North Park.

The Thunder offense, particularly the running game, played well today against a Carthage defense that entered the game sixth in Division III in total defense (208.4 YPG) and fourth in rushing defense, holding foes to an average of 59 rushing yards per game. Wheaton racked up 350 rushing yards and 99 passing yards to record 449 yards of total offense. Today's 350 yards on the ground is the most gained by the Thunder since Wheaton ran for 393 yards against Greenville College on Sept. 18, 2004. Carthage recorded 263 yards of total offense, with 151 passing yards and 112 rushing yards.

Junior tailback Chaz Black (LEFT) carried the ball 29 times for 205 yards, with two touchdown runs to lead the Thunder. Black's outstanding effort is the most rushing yards gained by a Wheaton player since Brian Pastermack ran for 220 yards against Carthage on October 14, 2000. Junior quarterback Jeremy Chupp completed two of his four passing attempts for 78 yards, with one touchdown pass, while he ran for 38 yards on nine carries. Senior quarterback Frank Andrews completed both of his passing attempts for 21 yards and he ran for an additional 65 yards on 11 carries, with one touchdown run. Junior Joe Chupp caught two passes for 78 yards, with one touchdown catch.

Freshman Pete Ittersagen made seven total tackles and sophomore Andrew Studebaker (RIGHT) made six tackles, with two for lost yardage (-2 yards) to aid the Thunder defense. Linebacker Jonathan Toal made six total tackles, with two tackles for lost yardage (-8 yards), including a sack (-6 yards), with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a safety. Senior punter Aaron Toly and the punt coverage team of the Thunder played a key role in Wheaton's success in field position as five of his six punts today were inside the 20-yard line, including two inside the five-yard line.

Carthage quarterback Brennan O'Boyle completed 14 of his 22 passing attempts for 151 yards, with two touchdown tosses. Danny O'Donnell caught four passes for 49 yards, with one touchdown catch. Matt Oskielunas carried the ball seven times for 53 yards and Tyson Mengel ran for 43 yards on 10 carries. Jim Cichon led the Redmen defense with 18 total tackles and Donovan Moore added 12 tackles.

Carthage took a 7-0 lead when O'Boyle threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to O'Donnell with 9:45 left in the first quarter, capping a 12-play drive of 94 yards. Wheaton tied the game at 7-7 when Jeremy Chupp threw a 71-yard touchdown toss to Joe Chupp with 41-seconds remaining in the first quarter. Black broke past the Carthage defense with a 56-yard touchdown run to give Wheaton a 14-7 lead with 14:11 remaining in the first half. Wheaton 's lead increased to 21-7 when Black scored on a 13-yard touchdown run with 7:40 remaining in the first half. Black ran for 72 yards on seven carries in the 10-play drive of 86 yards. Carthage cut into the Wheaton lead when O'Boyle threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Chris Leathers with 5:09 left in the first half.

With 6:22 left in the third quarter Toly booted a 38-yard punt that the Thunder punt coverage team downed at the Redmen four-yard line to pin down the Carthage offense. Two plays later the Thunder defense capitalized when Toal broke through the Carthage offensive line to stop Mengel in the backfield for a safety that increased Wheaton's lead to 23-14 with 5:37 left in the third quarter. The final score of 30-14 came as a result of an impressive 23-yard touchdown run by Andrews (LEFT) with 4:52 remaining in the game.