Wheaton comeback stuns North Central
With a 17-0 lead at the half, North Central College was in a nice position for a big football upset. But boy oh boy, that position could have been much nicer.
The Cardinals, looking to knock off unbeaten and No. 5-ranked Wheaton College, had two turnovers deep in Thunder territory in the first half that prevented the lead from being in the 20s or even 30s at the break.
Those miscues came back to haunt North Central (3-2, 1-1) as Wheaton came from behind to win 28-24 on quarterback Sean Norris' perfect 43-yard touchdown strike to Noah Dreyer with just 1:41 left to play in the critical College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin showdown Saturday night in Naperville.
"They really hurt," Cardinals coach John Thorne said of the lost fumble and interception inside the red zone in the first half. "Obviously, we could have used (the points)."
Naperville North graduate Aaron Fanthorpe not only put the Cardinals on top 17-0 with his 9-yard TD pass to Perry Welch in the final seconds of the first half, but he also came up with a huge play that seemed to give the Cards back some momentum after the Thunder (5-0, 2-0) had closed the gap to 17-14 in the third quarter.
With a heavy rush in his face, Fanthorpe stayed his ground just long enough to connect with wide receiver Michael MacIntosh. MacIntosh shook off one tackler, picked up a big block from Welch and raced 61 yards down the left sideline for a 24-14 lead with 4:15 left to go in the third quarter.
"We came out strong in the first half and our offensive line was moving their defensive line," Fanthorpe said. "Then we got some momentum back when we went up 24-14. But they're a good football team and they came out fighting the whole second half."
Norris, who prepped at Wheaton North, cut the Thunder deficit to 24-21 with a 4-yard pass to Kirk Sundberg with 7:04 left in the fourth quarter. North Central was forced to punt on its final two possessions, the last of which gave Wheaton the ball on the Cardinals 43-yard line following a 19-yard punt return by Pete Ittersagen.
On first down Norris threw a perfect strike to Dreyer for the game-winner. Dreyer caught the ball in stride, flanked by a pair of defensive backs and capped off the Thunder's big comeback.
"We knew if we kept cracking at the rock that it would eventually crack," said Norris, noting that Wheaton trailed North Central 13-0 at the half last season before rallying for a win. "We kept saying we had to stay with it and stay confident."
Wheaton coach Mike Swider, whose team has been hit hard by injuries, credited his squad's depth and attitude for the victory.
"We were using our sixth defensive end by the end of the game, but every guy we sent in to play did the job," he said. "We just kept coming back."