Wheaton College wins in 1st round

Wheaton College used a stout defense to shut out host Trine University 14-0 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs on Saturday.

Wheaton improved to 9-2 overall and will play at Wabash College in the second round at noon Saturday.

The visiting Thunder dominated the line of scrimmage and stuffed the Trine run offense, allowing only 66 yards on 31 carries in the game. Trine entered the contest averaging 191.9 yards per game.

Wheaton scored its first touchdown on a 2-yard quarterback keeper by Sean Norris (Wheaton North) in the second quarter with 3:49 left in the half.

In the third quarter, Alex Pokorny (Geneva) caught a 50-yard bomb up the right sideline. The big catch set up his own 6-yard touchdown reception on the same drive with 8:08 left in the quarter.

Trine threatened on several drives in the fourth quarter and showed urgency by converting 3 of 6 fourth downs in the final period. But Wheaton held the hosts scoreless, as a Tyler Langs interception in the end zone sealed the game with 57 seconds remaining.

Norris was 23-of-39 passing for 315 yards, one touchdown and 2 interceptions in the game. Pokorny led the wide receivers with 7 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. Rocky Gingg led Wheaton's rushing attack with 111 yards on 24 carries.

Langs led the Wheaton defense with 9 tackles, 2 sacks and an interception. Pete Ittersagen (Wheaton North) added 7 tackles.

"It's a great win for Wheaton College football," Wheaton coach Mike Swider said. "I'm proud of our players. We turned the ball over a bit and some key penalties hurt us. But we got critical first downs and kept drives alive. I'm immensely proud of our players and our performance."

The win marked Coach Swider's 105th career victory, which gives him the most in program history after being tied with Harve Chrouser. Swider is 105-31 since taking over as Wheaton coach in 1996.