Wheaton rises to No. 13, keeps playoff hopes alive
Coach Mike Swider’s Wheaton football team has been on a three-game tear of late, outscoring opponents by a combined 108-28 since a Week 4 loss to Illinois Wesleyan dropped the Thunder to 3-1.
According to Swider, there’s a simple explanation for the hot streak.
“They’re playing a little desperate right now,” Swider said Tuesday. “You get any more than one loss, you’re not going to the playoffs.”
That might seem extreme for a team that now stands at 6-1 (3-1 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play), and jumped from No. 16 to No. 13 in the latest version of D3football.com’s Top 25 poll after rolling to a 31-7 road win over Carthage on Saturday.
But Swider insists he’s not exaggerating.
“You have to be almost perfect,” he said. “Two losses will get you a friendly handshake.”
On Saturday senior quarterback Garrett Meador completed 22 of 31 passes for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns — 2 to freshman receiver Mark Hiben (Glenbard West), who finished with 161 receiving yards. Wheaton rolled up 393 yards of total offense and stifled a Carthage attack that managed to gain less than half that number.
The Thunder is getting used to that type of production. It’s beaten Elmhurst 49-21 and North Park 28-0 since a 24-19 loss to No. 24 Illinois Wesleyan on Oct. 1 spoiled a 3-0 start.
“The first three games, we were pretty confident,” Hiben said. “I thought we were doing really well and nobody could beat us. I think we took that attitude into Wesleyan.
“We realize that we need to win out to reach our goal of winning the CCIW.”
That’s still a tall task, especially with a matchup against No. 6 North Central (6-1, 4-0) looming Nov. 5. The more immediate challenge is a game against Augustana Saturday. The Vikings are 2-5, but have won two straight after five consecutive losses, four of which came by 8 points or less.
Elmhurst: With a stunning 2-1 double-overtime win over previously unbeaten Wheaton Saturday, the Elmhurst women’s soccer team seized control of its chances for postseason play.
Junior Amy Baschen (Downers Grove South) scored with just 2:06 left in regulation to tie the game at 1-1, and senior Valerie Wesley netted the game-winner 1:45 into the second overtime to give Elmhurst (11-3-1, 2-2-1 CCIW) the unlikely victory. The Bluejays can guarantee their spot in the CCIW tournament with wins over Millikin Wednesday and Augustana Saturday.
“Two doable tasks, we say,” Baschen said. “We control our own destiny.”
Baschen said the top four teams in the conference make the CCIW tournament. The Bluejays could still make the tournament even with a tie in one of the next two games but would need some help.
They helped their own cause Saturday.
Wheaton (14-1-1, 4-1-0) led 1-0 at the intermission and dominated most of the play in the first half, outshooting Elmhurst 15-1. But the Bluejays held a 13-10 shot advantage from then on, netting the equalizer when Baschen beat Wheaton keeper Kelsey Graham with a low left-footed liner from less than 18 yards out.
Wesley’s goal early in the second overtime sealed the win.
North Central: Tyler Rasche is piling up accolades this week after his career-best performance in the No. 6-ranked North Central football team’s 24-0 win over No. 24 Illinois Wesleyan Saturday.
The junior punter was named the CCIW’s special teams player of the week Monday, then received more good news Tuesday as D3football.com made him the third North Central player this season to earn the website’s team of the week honors. Rasche punted four times against Illinois Wesleyan, averaging a career-best 45 yards per punt.
He ripped off a career-long 63-yard punt in the third quarter that pinned the Titans on their own 5-yard line, and a 49-yarder in the second quarter that stopped on the 1-yard line. Rasche is averaging 37.2 yards per punt this season for North Central (6-1, 4-0 CCIW).
Benedictine: MaryClare Loughery’s strong play out of the No. 1 singles position for the Benedictine women’s tennis team landed her a spot among the Northern Athletics Conference elite Monday.
The sophomore was a 2011 all-conference first team selection Monday, capping a regular season in which she went 8-2 against NAC opponents. This is Loughery’s second consecutive first-team all-NAC selection. She took home the conference’s player of the year and freshman of the year honors in 2010 after starting her career with 9-5 mark at No. 1 singles and a 10-4 record at No. 1 doubles.