Kenosha, Wis. – The No. 24 Wheaton Thunder football team took to the road on Saturday for a CCIW contest at Carthage College following two-consecutive games at McCully Stadium. The Thunder defeated the Firebirds 50-13 for the road win, and Wheaton's 14th-consecutive win against Carthage. The Thunder improve to 4-2 overall and 4-1 in CCIW play.
The Thunder offense amassed 503 yards of total offensive yards, passing for 305 yards, with 198 rushing yards. Carthage had 313 yards of total offense, with 155 passing yards and 158 rushing yards.
Thunder quarterback Mark Forcucci completed 21 of his 31 passing attempts for 243 yards, with four touchdown passes. Fellow quarterback Xaviere Jones was 5-for-8 passing with 62 yards through the air, and a touchdown pass. Jones also added a 10-yard touchdown run.
Ben Bonga caught eight passes for 124 yards, with two touchdown catches. Davis Reeves had eight catches for 78 yards, with a touchdown reception. Breck Peacock tallied six receptions for 58 yards. Giovanni Weeks led Wheaton's rushing game with 93 yards on 13 carries with a pair of touchdown catches.
Linebacker Luca Torti made a team-high 11 total tackles, including four solo stops, to lead the Wheaton defense. Defensive back Nate Tofilon recorded eight tackles, including five solos. Linebacker Caleb McClung made six total tackles, with four solo stops, an interception, and a pass break-up. Colin Moore and Johnny Eller each registered five total tackles, with Moore recording a team-high two passes broken up.
Wheaton reached the end zone on its first offensive drive of the game to take an early 7-0 lead with 10:59 remaining in the first quarter. Wheaton's six-play drive of 40 yards concluded with a 14-yard touchdown run by Weeks. Weeks' touchdown was followed by a PAT kick of Mateo Jesch. The Thunder defense stalled the Carthage offense on the drive that followed the Thunder touchdown as the Wheaton 'D' stopped Carthage's offense on a fourth-and-seven passing attempt at the Wheaton 46-yard line. The Thunder followed that up with an eight-play drive of 54 yards that concluded with a four-yard touchdown pass from Forcucci to Deuce Scott. Jesch kicked a PAT to give the Thunder a 14-0 lead with 4:02 left in the in the first half.
The Firebirds reached the scoreboard on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Lowe to Bryce Frank. Carthage's two-point conversion attempt failed following the touchdown pass as the hosts trimmed Wheaton's lead 14-6 with 14:14 left in the second quarter. Wheaton quickly responded with a quick scoring drive that culminated with a 45-yard touchdown pass by Forcucci to Davis Reeves. Wheaton missed the PAT following Reeves' touchdown catch as the Thunder led 20-6 with 12:47 remaining in the second quarter. Carthage returned points to the scoreboard on a nine-yard touchdown pass by Lowe, followed by a PAT that cut Wheaton's lead to 20-13 with 7:34 remaining in the first half. The Thunder offense produced 10 points in the closing minutes of the first half. Jesch kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:59 remaining in the second quarter to increase Wheaton's lead to 23-13. The Thunder offense had a productive nine-play drive of 82 yards that lasted one minute and 11 seconds that culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Forcucci to Bonga that extended the guests' lead to 30-13 with 20-seconds left in the first half. The Thunder led 30-13 at halftime.
Wheaton took the opening kickoff of the second half and put together a seven-play drive of 62 yards that culminated with a 23-yard touchdown pass by Forcucci to Bonga. Jesch converted the PAT kick as Wheaton led 37-13 with 11:29 left in the third quarter. On Wheaton's next offensive drive, Weeks reached the end zone on a five-yard touchdown run with 7:02 remaining in the third quarter to give Wheaton a 44-13 lead.
Thunder quarterback Xaviere Jones scrambled into the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown run to extend Wheaton's lead to 50-13 with 6:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder travel to St. Louis next Saturday for a CCIW road contest against the Bears of WashU. The matchup with WashU begins at 1:00 p.m.