ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College football team's upset bid
of 12th-ranked Wheaton College fell just short as the Bluejays were
downed by the Thunder 27-24 in front of a homecoming crowd of over
2,600 fans at Langhorst Field.
Elmhurst (4-1, 1-1 CCIW) led 24-14 at halftime and maintained a
24-21 advantage into the fourth quarter, but Wheaton (5-0, 2-0
CCIW) scored the go-ahead touchdown with 6:26 left to play. The
Bluejays struggled to put points on the scoreboard in the second
half and a late turnover by Elmhurst proved to be costly.
Leading 24-14 midway through the third quarter, Elmhurst had a
chance to estend its lead on the Thunder as the Bluejays drove
to the Wheaton 17-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-one, Scottie
Williams was stopped just inches shy of the first down,
giving the ball to Wheaton on downs. Two plays later, the Thunder's
Jordan Roberts raced 64 yards on an option keeper to the Bluejays'
four-yard line. Roberts capped the scoring drive with a six-yard
touchdown pass to Charlie Antal to pull the Thunder to within three
points at 24-21.
On its next offensive possession, Elmhurst marched down to the
Wheaton 11-yard line, but J.R. Dalicandro's 27-yard
field goal attempt sailed just wide to keep the Bluejays' lead at
three.
After both teams were forced to punt on their next possessions,
Wheaton's Tyler Langs gave the Thunder good field position by
returning a punt 36 yards to the Wheaton 46-yard line. Facing
a third-and-five from the Elmhurst 35-yard line, Roberts connected
with tight end Austin Zoerhof on a 34-yard pass play. Roberts
finished the scoring drive with a one-yard toss to Davis Skinner to
give the Thunder a 27-24 lead. Elmhurst's Jon Janus
blocked the extra-point attempt to keep the Bluejays down by only
three points with 6:26 left to play.
Elmhurst was forced to punt on its next possession, but the
Bluejays' defense forced Wheaton into a three-and-out and Elmhurst
got the ball back at their own 32-yard line with 1:38 left to play.
Facing a second-and-10, Joe Furco hit Rodney
Payton for a completion to midfield, but Payton was stripped
of the ball as he was falling to the turf. The Thunder recovered
the loose ball and ran the clock down to just 18 seconds. Furco's
hail mary attempt was picked off by Wheaton in the closing seconds
to preserve the win for the Thunder.
The Bluejays built a 24-14 lead at halftime with scores from
both the offense and defense. Jamall Lane killed
Wheaton's opening scoring drive bid by intercepting Roberts in the
end zone. Elmhurst wasted little time to get on the scoreboard,
taking its opening drive 80-yards in seven plays with Williams
finding the end zone on an 18-yard run.
Wheaton took advantage of a short field after the Thunder recovered
a muffed punt at the Bluejays' 30-yard line. Roberts connected with
Antal from 25 yards out to knot the score at seven.
The Bluejays recaptured the lead early in the second quarter when
Dalicandro booted a 20-yard field goal. After a Wheaton punt,
Elmhurst built a 17-7 lead by driving 86 yards in eight plays.
Furco hooked up with Corey Thonn on a 16-yard
touchdown pass to cap the drive and put Elmhurst up by
10.
Wheaton answered right back as Garrett Meador hit Zoerhof over the
middle for a 52-yard scoring strike to pull the Thunder to within
three points.
Elmhurst's defense came up big just before the half when Kyle
DeMus picked off Meador and raced 37 yards to the end zone to
give Elmhurst a 24-14 lead at the half.
Elmhurst finished with 411 yards of total offense. The Bluejays
rushed for 198 yards and passed for 209 yards. Wheaton totaled 395
yards of offense with 159 yards coming on the ground and 178 yards
coming through the air.
Williams led the ground attack for the Bluejays, carrying 30 times
for 159 yards and a touchdown. Furco completed 12-of-30 passes for
173 yards and a score. Bobby Vavlas was Elmhurst's top target,
catching four passes for 67 yards.
Roberts rushed nine times for 82 yards to lead the Thunder's
rushing attack. He added 160 yards and three touchdowns through the
air by completing 15-of-22 passes. Antal finished with six
receptions for 75 yards and two scores while Zoerhof caught three
passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Randy Wright led Elmhurst's defense, finishing with 15
tackles (10 solo), including a tackle for loss. Janus added nine
stops while Pete Alfano recorded seven.
Langs led Wheaton's defense with eight stops while Jordan Chapman
recorded seven for the Thunder.
Elmhurst travels to Illinois Wesleyan University next Saturday
(October 16) for a 6:00 p.m. contest against the Titans.