Wheaton Academy overcomes Chicago Christian

It was an offensive explosion that finally got Wheaton Academy its first win of the season.

The Warriors (1-4, 1-2) shut down the Chicago Christian Knights 41-14 at Wheaton College on Friday night.

The Knights (0-5, 0-3) opened the game with the only touchdown in the first quarter on their first drive, but the Warriors came out strong in the second quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points as quarterback Drew Decker and wide receiver Matt Lindsay connected for two touchdowns.

“It’s just great,” Warriors coach Ben Wilson said. “Our kids have worked hard all year, and they had a great attitude despite being 0-4 coming into the game. We had a lot of guys step up tonight. Joel Swick had a great game, Justin Sargeant coming back from injury, I really felt like overall it was a great team win.”

Decker was 12 of 20 with 233 yards passing in the game, connecting with Lindsey for 7 receptions. Swick tallied 65 yards on 4 carries, including a 50 yard touchdown run to give the Warriors a 21-7 lead in the third quarter.

The heavy passing game in the second quarter seemed to be the key for the Warriors.

“We knew that (Chicago Christian) was loading the box,” Wilson said. “They were man to man on Lindsay and we felt like we had a good matchup there, so we kept going to him.”

Turnovers were a problem early for the Warriors, but Wilson made sure they stayed on track.

“We told them we know we can win this game, so let’s play like it. Let’s take care of the football,” Wilson said. “We still had turnovers as the game went on, but our guys really responded well to adversity and I’m just really proud of their effort and their attitude. “

The final blow came with about three minutes left in the game, when Swick scored a touchdown on a 93-yard interception return to secure the Warriors’ much anticipated first victory of the season.

“I’m just really happy for our guys,” Wilson said. “They deserved this win for all the hard work they’ve been putting in.”