Wheaton, Aurora fall in second round of DIII football playoffs
Wheaton College's football team fell 49-42 Saturday at UW-Whitewater in the second round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs.
The Warhawks (11-1) advance to next Saturday's quarterfinal round against Wartburg College.
The Thunder (10-2) put up 532 yards of total offense while passing for 402 yards and rushing for 130 yards. Five of Wheaton's six touchdowns came on passes. The Warhawks had 563 yards of total offense. The hosts passed for 239 yards and ran for 314 yards.
Wheaton senior quarterback Ben Thorson passed for 402 yards, completing 26 of 41 passes with five touchdowns. Ben Bonga caught eight passes for 87 yards, with two touchdown catches. Seth Kortenhoeven had six receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown, while Caleb Titherington had six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown. Ben Juska caught both passes thrown his way for 58 yards and one touchdown.
All-American running back Giovanni Weeks carried the ball 21 times for 123 yards with one touchdown. He also caught the ball three times for 51 yards.
Virgil Cannon made a game-high 13 total tackles. Caleb McClung recorded 11 total tackles, with Dimitri Cannon adding seven total tackles. Isaac Parrish, Johnny Eller and Max Wilson each made six total tackles.
"I have a great depth of pride for the men that ran out on the field today for the Wheaton Thunder," said Wheaton coach Jesse Scott. "I am proud of how they represented our institution, and for the way they represented our football program."
The Warhawks reached the end zone on their first possession when Tamir Thomas scored on a 56-yard touchdown run. Wheaton responded with a 13-play drive for 73 yards. The drive culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Weeks.
Thorson connected with Kortenhoeven on an 18-yard touchdown pass for a 28-14 Wheaton lead with 6:54 left in the first half.
UW-Whitewater responded quickly in its first possession of the second half, trimming the deficit to 28-21 The hosts scored on a four-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 28-28 with 6:26 left in the third quarter.
UW-Whitewater had a 56-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to regain a 35-28 lead. Thorson again led Wheaton with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Bonga to tie the game at 35-35 with 12:27 remaining.
The Warhawks' Tamir Thomas had a six-yard touchdown catch and a 20-yard touchdown on back-to-back UWW drives to give the hosts a 49-35 lead with 7:00 remaining in the game.
"It has been a wild ride for me at Wheaton," Thorson said. "I have loved every minute of it and love this program with everything I have."
UW-La Crosse 56, Aurora 35:
The Spartans (11-1) built a 14-0 first-quarter lead but couldn't hold on in their second-round road loss in the Division III playoffs.
The Eagles (11-1) tied the game early in the second quarter and never trailed again, taking a 28-21 lead to halftime and extending the advantage to 49-21 by early in the fourth quarter.
Tyler Adkins completed 37 of 54 passes for 390 yards and 4 touchdowns for Aurora. Michael Boland, one of seven players to catch a pass, had 11 receptions for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Jhequay Chretin led the Spartans' ground game with 50 yards on 16 carries.
Keyser Helterbrand threw for 317 yards and 5 touchdowns for the Eagles while Gabe Lynch rushed for 176 yards on 23 carries.