Adam Dansdill is just one of the leaders on Wheaton's balanced roster.  Photo by Michael Hudson

The Wheaton Thunder just seem to always be there – ranked among the top Division III football teams in the nation (No. 7 most of the season), and challenging for the CCIW title.

But who are these guys?

You won't find a 100-yards-per-game running back. Sola Olateju tops out at 73.4 yards per game this season. You won't find a 300-yards-per-game passer. Johnny Peltz throws for 200 per contest over four games while Andrew Bowers has averaged 108.2 passing yards over five games.

You won't find a 10-tackles-per-game player on defense. Linebacker Adam Dansdill leads the team with 46 tackles (9.2 per game) while Mikey Swider (son of Wheaton coach Mike Swider) has 42 total tackles (8.4 per game).

What Wheaton does have is 10 straight CCIW victories dating back to 2013 when it lost to North Central and Illinois Wesleyan to finish 8-2. The Thunder came a missed two-point conversion from beating John Carroll in the playoffs last year and advancing to the national quarterfinals.

Coach Swider said, in fact, what he likes about this Wheaton team is its balance.

"You don't look at our football team and say they're really strong here and make up for some deficiencies somewhere else," Swider said. "We're a solid team on offense. We're a solid team on defense. We're playing well on our special teams right now. We're not a one-dimensional team. I think that's something we're really excited about."

Wheaton is one of a handful of teams still undefeated in the Midwest and Division III at 5-0 heading into a game with Millikin on Saturday. Swider said he has been playing with a good group of upperclassmen that has kept the Thunder focused on the task at hand instead of down the road for bigger games against CCIW opponents and nationally-ranked foes North Central (No. 17) and Illinois Wesleyan (No. 20).

"We're a football team that's driven by some seniors who are passionate and have set their sights on some goals," Swider said. "They have rallied this football team around those goals and have demonstrated some really good leadership this season."

Swider pointed to the presence of Dansdill and noseguard Josh Aldrin on defense and offensive lineman Matt Snebold on offense with providing leadership for Wheaton this season.

"Adam (Dansdill) is as good as it gets," Swider said. "I'm not going to say he's the best linebacker in America but he's part of that conversation. He is an instinctive athlete and runs our defense. We feed off of Adam. He plays the run well and then can drop back and do some things for us in coverage.

"(Aldrin) has such great energy and leadership. We really feed off those two guys on defense."

Swider called Snebold "a force to be reckoned with on offense. He's the guy who provides leadership on that side of the ball. It's not just the way he plays but other dynamics where he has really stepped up for us."

While Wheaton came so close to advancing to the next round of the playoffs, Swider said the memory of that second round loss alone will not get them anywhere and believes the seniors have moved on from that heartbreaker.

"We're all human beings and there are a lot of things that can fuel you," Swider said. "I'm sure some of these guys do have that in the back of their minds but I think they've all turned the page and set some new goals. That game gave us confidence but it doesn't help us win games this year. We have an opportunity to do something special this year and thinking about last year won't help us."

Especially when you have the Little Brass Bell game against North Central and Illinois Wesleyan still remaining on your schedule.

"(North Central) is really good," said Swider, pointing out that the Cardinals' two losses came to nationally-ranked teams in the closing moments of those contests. "They could very easily be undefeated at this point. That's the thing about this conference – any team can beat you. We've got Millikin this week and that's all that matters. If we don't win that game, then the ones against North Central and Illinois Wesleyan won't matter. We've got to stay focused in the here and now to be successful."

Midseason report cards

Now that we're halfway through the season, here are some of the teams and players who have made a name for themselves.

Best Offense: Wheaton —The Thunder's 520.6 yards per game in total offense ranks them 12th best in the country, despite the fact that they don't have a "big stat" guy on that side of the football. That ability to spread the wealth to any number of players on Wheaton's offense could be a game-planning nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.

Best Defense: Illinois Wesleyan —The Titans are still undefeated but no longer flying under the radar ranked at No. 20 in the latest national poll. Illinois Wesleyan is limiting teams to 262 yards in total offense per game, ranking the Titans among the top 20 defenses in the country. That includes a season-opening win against HCAC kingpin Franklin.

Best Turnaround: After opening with losses to Illinois Wesleyan and Butler, the Franklin Grizzlies have shaken off any sign that they may have been vulnerable going into HCAC play and have once again dominated conference competition over their first four league games. Franklin's average victory margin in HCAC is plus-44.2 points. That was skewed a little with the Grizzlies 80-19 victory over Earlham last week, but the streak has included two shutouts. We will know more about Franklin with the toughest part of their conference schedule coming over the next two weeks.

Best Single-Game Performance: It is really hard to give "a best" recognition in a losing effort, but 585 yards in total offense is simply too hard to ignore. That came by way of Augustana quarterback Sam Frasco on Sept. 19, when he rushed for 312 yards on 17 carries and four touchdowns and then passed for 273 more yards (23 of 36) with two TD passes. Yet, the Vikings lost to Loras 56-52. Frasco's 167.2 rushing yards per game is good enough for fifth-best in all of Division III.

Special note: Beloit's Mason Dixon is averaging 153.2 per game while Elmhurst's Josh Williams is rushing for 146.2 yards per game, both ranking among the top 12 rushers in the nation.

Games of the week

Mount St. Joseph (3-2, 3-1 in HCAC) at Franklin (4-2, 4-0 in HCAC), 1:30 p.m. — Things are going to start to shake themselves out in many conferences over the next three to four weeks and here is one of the games that will start to clear up a big question in the HCAC – Can anyone beat Franklin? One of the conference favorites, Mount St. Joseph will take a shot at it this week in the first of two back-to-back possible conference deciders. Franklin's game next week at Rose-Hulman (5-0, 3-0) could be the other one. The Grizzlies are averaging an eye-popping 56.7 points per conference game this season. Mount St. Joseph's defense is giving up an average of nearly 30 points a game, so there is an assumption that the Lions will need to score and score often to keep up with Franklin in this one.

Concordia Wis. (2-3, 2-0 in NACC) at Benedictine (3-2, 1-0 in NACC), 2 p.m. — Here is another "shake out" game where you have defending co-champion and NACC favorite Benedictine trying to solidify an early conference lead against Concordia. The winner will be one of two undefeated conference teams left (along with Lakeland) in the league, setting up a possible title showdown game when they do play the Muskies.

St. Norbert (5-0, 1-0 in MWC North) at Ripon (4-1, 1-0 in MWC North), 2 p.m. — St. Norbert is coming off of a big, hard fought win against Carroll, avenging one of the worst losses the Green Knights suffered last season. Ripon, though, has quietly gone 4-1, including a nice 23-0 victory over defending MWC champion Macalester last week. Could St. Norbert suffer a letdown after such a big win against Carroll to open the door for Ripon on the road? That's why you play them.