Wheaton, North Central, Aurora score first-round playoff victories
The 10th-ranked Wheaton football team hosted Mount St. Joseph University in the first round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs on Saturday at McCully Stadium, with the Thunder earning a 41-34 victory against the Lions.
The Thunder moves onto the second round of the playoffs facing UW-Whitewater at noon Saturday. The NCAA will announce the location next Saturday's matchup on Sunday.
The game saw four lead changes today. Wheaton led 41-34 for a MSJ drive that started with 3:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-7, Mount St. Joseph lined up its own 34-yard line. The Thunder defense gained a 1-yard sack by Isaac, but more importantly the Lions turned the ball over on downs and Wheaton ran out the clock for the victory.
Senior Jaden Ferlita, noted of the Thunder defense and specifically his defensive line. "For the last play of that drive, they took me out of the game and put Gage [Autry], Isaac [Parrish], and Peter [Johanik] on the line. The blitz was called, and I knew Peter could run it. I was excited to see them finish. They did what they needed to do," he said.
The Wheaton offense put up 564 yards of total offense on 88 plays, as the Thunder averaged 6.4 yards per play in the game. The Thunder ran for 302 yards and passed for 262 yards. The Lions had 426 yards of total offense, with 239 rushing yards and 187 passing yards.
All-America running back Giovanni Weeks led the Thunder on offense as he amassed 38 of Wheaton's 51 carries, as he ran for 256 rushing yards with 4 touchdown runs.
"As the game progressed you have to lean into our O-line. We have some really good players up front. I have a lot of trust in those guys. Honestly, a lot of times, you just have to slow down and trust that they are going to open up the games for me to run through," Weeks said.
Thunder quarterback Ben Thorson (Wheaton Academy) completed 20 out of his 34 passes with one touchdown on the day, as he threw for 262 yards. Seth Kortenhoeven (Wheaton North) caught six passes for 104 yards. Ben Bonga caught 8 passes for 54 yards and 1 touchdown reception.
North Central 65, Belhaven 0:
Achieving its largest margin of victory ever in a postseason contest, the North Central College football team opened the 2023 NCAA Division III football championship with a bang Saturday with a 65-0 bludgeoning of Belhaven University (Mississippi) at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
The No. 1-ranked Cardinals (11-0) won their 14th consecutive first-round contest and posted their third playoff shutout. North Central rolled up 575 yards of total offense while allowing just 125, marking its second-lowest yardage total ever permitted in the postseason.
"We wanted to play a disciplined football game," said North Central coach Brad Spencer. "We thought that was something we could take advantage of in all three phases, and I think our guys did a great job of doing that."
Quarterback Luke Lehnen got the hosts' offensive attack started with a 55-yard run on their second play from scrimmage before DeAngelo Hardy threw his second touchdown pass in as many weeks. Hardy's 3-yard toss to Charles Coleman gave North Central a lead it would not part with after less than four minutes of play. Hardy caught a 37-yard pass on the Cardinals' next drive to advance into the red zone before Lehnen found him again for a nine-yard scoring pass to double the lead to 14-0.
A fumble by Belhaven quarterback Tim Johnson was recovered by Zack Orr at the Blazers' 40-yard line on the first play of the second period.
North Central advances to the second round of the championship to take on Trinity University (Texas). The sixth-ranked Tigers (10-1) defeated Hardin-Simmons University (Texas) 20-6 in their first-round game Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon and the site of the contest will be announced Sunday.
Aurora 20, Coe 7:
The Aurora University Spartan played host to the first NCAA Division III playoff game at AU in program history at Spartan Athletic Park. The AU defense was stifling all afternoon as the Spartans prevailed 20-7 over the Kohawks of Coe College.