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Wheaton in control in playoff win over Benedictine

From the opening kick to the final play, Wheaton College was just too much for Benedictine.

The Thunder defeated Benedictine 43-14 in front of its home crowd on Saturday in the NCAA Division III football playoffs.

"If you can run the football and someone else can't run it on you, chances are you're going to win that football game," Wheaton coach Mike Swider said. "We won that war, generally speaking that's what's going to decide the football game."

Wheaton dominated the ground game on both sides of the ball. The Thunder rushed for 328 yards while holding the Eagles to just 70. Most of the nearly non-existent Benedictine rushing game came in the fourth quarter.

For most of the game, Wheaton quarterback Johnny Peltz had the opposing defense on skates. The combination of the option and play-action passes resulted in consistent success. Wheaton scored on its first three possessions, going up 21-0 early in the second quarter.

"We've got a quarterback here who can run the football, you know? We don't have two running backs we have three," Swider said.

Peltz finished the game as the second-leading rusher with 90 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He also threw for 217 and found Luke Thorson for 2 more touchdowns.

Benedictine briefly fought back into the game. After back-to-back drives on either side of halftime resulted in Ryan Keener passing touchdowns, the Eagles trailed 31-14 and recovered an onside kick.

"It took us a while," Benedictine coach Jon Cooper said about the early deficit. "We were shellshocked. The speed, we hadn't seen blocking like that. We couldn't simulate that in practice."

Cooper said the game was somewhat emblamatic of Benedictine's season. After starting the season 1-4 the team won its final five games to reach the playoffs.

For Swider and the Thunder, the beat goes on. Swider remains perfect in opening-round playoff games, something he credits to the difficulty of the CCIW. Wheaton College will play John Carroll University next Saturday. Wheaton likely will again be the home team for a noon kickoff.

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