Wheaton, Ill. - The Wheaton Thunder football team utilized 16 first-quarter points and a stingy defense on Saturday afternoon to top Monmouth College 32-7 in the season opener for both teams. Wheaton (1-0), is off until it travels to September 15 at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Wheaton dominated play throughout this afternoon as the Thunder had 19 first downs, to just two for the Fighting Scots. Wheaton possessed the ball for 35:59 to just 24:01 for Monmouth.
The Thunder tallied 519 yards of total offense, with 387 passing yards and 132 rushing yards. Monmouth recorded 60 yards through the air and minus-6 yards on the ground.
Senior quarterback Curtis McWilliams (PICTURED) passed for 363 yards, with three touchdowns. McWilliams completed 22 of his 41 passing attempts. Adam Terrini was McWilliams' top receiving target with seven receptions for 105 yards and two touchdown catches. Phillip Nichols caught six passes for 95 yards, while Tyler Pace and Jaelin Goldsmith each had a touchdown reception. Senior tailback Stone Watson carried the ball 15 times for 89 yards, averaging 5.9 yards per carry on the day.
Senior linebacker Eric Stevenson (PICTURED LEFT) led the Thunder defense with a team-high seven total tackles. Logan Miller registered six tackles for the hosts. Tyler Sigler made five total tackles, including four solo stops. The senior recorded an interception and a tackle for loss (-2 yards). Patrick O'Connell tallied five total tackles, including 3-1/2 tackles for loss (-12 yards).
Clark Gaden led the Monmouth defense with 14 total tackles. Quarterback Hayden Nelson passed for 60 yards with one touchdown as he completed 11 of his 28 passing attempts for the Fighting Scots. Jacolby Maxwell caught six passes for 61 yards with one touchdown catch.
Wheaton scored on its third offensive play of the season as McWilliams connected with Pace on a 12-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 Thunder lead with 12:56 left in the first quarter. The touchdown was setup two plays earlier, on Wheaton's first play, as McWilliams threw a 37 yards pass to Nichols to put the Thunder offense in the red zone at the Monmouth 16-yard line. An errant snap by the Fighting Scots on a punt attempt two drives later accounted for safety to increase Wheaton's lead to 9-0 with 8:58 remaining in the first quarter. Terrini broke free from the Monmouth defense for a 53-yard touchdown toss from McWilliams to extend Wheaton's lead to 16-0 with 2:54 left in the first quarter.
Jacolby Maxwell caught a 23-yard touchdown pass with 1:30 remaining in the first half to account for Monmouth's first-half points. Maxwell's touchdown cut the Thunder lead to 16-7, a score that stood at the halftime intermission.
Goldsmith connected with McWilliams for a 50-yard touchdown toss with 11:16 remaining in the third quarter to extend Wheaton's lead to 22-7. Goldsmith's touchdown capped a four-play drive of 65 yards.
Early in the fourth quarter, Wheaton put together a 31-yard drive that culminated with a 30-yard field goal for Griffin Bowes. Bowes' PAT extended Wheaton's lead to 25-7 with 9:32 remaining in the game. Wheaton locked up the victory when Terrini caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Peterson with 4:52 remaining in the game.
No. 18 Wheaton opens the 2018 campaign with a 32-7 victory against Monmouth
/seasons/2018/boxscores/20180901_cz04.xml
2018
Monmouth
7
Wheaton (Ill.)
32
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monmouth (0-1) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 22 Wheaton (Ill.) (1-0) | 16 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 32 |
Sep 01, 2018