Thunder protects its turf
Wheaton College defended its home field against Millikin University.
No surprise there. The Thunder is ranked sixth in Division III, Saturday was homecoming, and Wheaton has won 31 of 32 at McCully Stadium since 2001.
"Every time you come out here you just expect to win," tailback Brett Jackson said. "You expect everyone to come out (on the field) and be excited for you after the game, and it's a neat experience when you play that well at home all the time."
The Thunder did break in the stadium's brand-new scoreboard gently before pulling away to a 29-7 victory in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football opener.
"We had a war here for the first half," Wheaton coach Mike Swider said. "Millikin came and played hard. Eventually we just wore them down. A couple of fourth-down stops were big."
The Thunder (4-0, 1-0) led 5-0 late in the second quarter on a Tim Ellingsen field goal and a sack of Millikin quarterback Justin Levingston for a safety.
Then it got a much-needed adrenaline boost. On fourth-and-17 at the Millikin 40, Wheaton quarterback Sean Norris found Alex Pokorny deep over the middle for a touchdown and a 12-0 lead 38 seconds before halftime.
"That was a great momentum swing for us going into the half," said Pokorny, a junior from Geneva. "We were really kind of lagging and had missed some opportunities there."
Millikin (1-3, 0-1) struck quickly after halftime on a 37-yard TD pass to Chris Katzmark, but Wheaton's defense never broke again. The Thunder gave up 298 yards, but it held firm when it needed to, including on a few key fourth downs.
"We play a lot like the Bears where we give up some yardage but we don't give up the big play, and we rely on our fast defensive ends to make plays," Thunder cornerback Pete Ittersagen said.
The Wheaton game plan was to give up short passes in the flats but nothing deep against a Millikin team that loves to pass. That translated into a busy day for Ittersagen, and he responded with 12 tackles, 4 passes broken up and 1 forced fumble.
"He's a pretty good player, isn't he?" Swider said of the junior from Wheaton North. "He's as good as there is in America at this level. He's as good a DB as there is in America at this level. He makes mistakes like everybody, but I tell you, the kid makes some plays."
Wheaton's offense made some plays in the second half, too, getting that new scoreboard busy on a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Kirk Sundberg -- one from Kyle Bradley, the other from Norris, both Wheaton North graduates -- and another Ellingsen field goal.
Representing the other side of town, Wheaton Warrenville South grad Jackson ran for 132 yards on 16 carries, not bad for a senior who spent the last three seasons at receiver.
"We challenged Brett last week to step it up. He needed to. He rose to the challenge," Swider said.
The Thunder faces a big challenge next week at North Central College, led by former WW South coach John Thorne.
"That's my buddy over there," Jackson said of Thorne, "and I know a lot of guys over there. It'll be exciting to play over there next Saturday night. We'll be ready to go, I guarantee that."