Football team loses to #7 Wheaton, 49-15

WHEATON, Ill. – Playing in Chicagoland for a third consecutive week and a ranked opponent for a second straight week, the Olivet College football team ended its non-conference schedule with a 49-15 loss to Wheaton (Ill.) College today at McCully Stadium in Wheaton, Illinois. The Thunder were ranked No. 7 in this week's D3football.com Top 25 poll.

Wheaton led 6-0 after the first quarter of play and 29-0 at halftime. Olivet scored on its first possession of the second half. Three big plays led to the points. The first play was a 23-yard kickoff return by senior co-captain James Williams (Battle Creek/Central). The second was a 40-yard run by senior Mike Martin (Caledonia/Wayland Union). The final play was a 30-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Daniel Bolster (Dundee) to Williams.

The Thunder also scored on their first series of the second half. The Comets added two points to their total when Ryan Armstrong (Rives Junction/Leslie) and Glenn VanNortwick (Wayland/Wayland Union) combined to take down the Wheaton running back in the backfield for a safety.

Olivet scored another touchdown on a 9-play, 60-yard drive that spanned the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter. Martin capped the drive with a two-yard run into the end zone. Earlier in the drive, he had a 24-yard rush. Junior Blake Iobe (Marshall) converted the PAT kick to make the score 36-15. Wheaton closed the scoring with two touchdowns in the final 10:24 of the game.

The Comets finished the game with 229 yards of total offense. On the ground, Martin carried the ball 13 times for 98 yards, while junior Edric Miller (Battle Creek/Central) had 10 carries for 55 yards. Bolster completed six passes for 85 yards. Williams caught three passes for 42 yards. He also returned five kickoffs for 110 yards. Defensively, senior Aaron Breneman (Pinckney) topped the team with 11 total tackles, including seven solo. Senior Ryan Reurink (Wayland/Wayland Union) was next with 10 stops.

The Thunder piled up 511 yards of offense, including 336 rushing. Justin Swider had 12 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Garrett Meador threw for 167 yards on 13-of-20 passing. J.J. Clark had four receptions for 47 yards. Brett Anderson led the defense with six tackles.

Olivet is off next week and then opens Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play Saturday, Oct. 8, at Adrian College. Kickoff is 6 p.m.