Football team falls to #22 Wheaton, 61-14

OLIVET, Mich. -- The Olivet College football team fell to Wheaton (Ill.) College, 61-14, tonight at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet.

Wheaton, No. 22 in this week's D3football.com Top 25 poll, led 40-0 at halftime. The Thunder added a touchdown early in the third quarter to take a 47-0 lead. Olivet got on the scoreboard with 8:15 left in the third stanza on an 87-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Tony Phillips (Lansing/Waverly) to junior James Williams (Battle Creek/Central). Sophomore Blake Iobe (Marshall) converted the PAT kick to make the score 47-7. After Wheaton scored another touchdown, the Comets scored when Phillips connected with freshman Javier Smith (Niles) for a 58-yard touchdown reception at the 4:30 mark in the third quarter. Iobe made his second PAT kick. The Thunder closed the scoring with a touchdown with 2:11 left in the game.

Olivet was held to just eight net rushing yards. Phillips completed 9-of-17 passes for 185 yards. Williams caught two passes for 98 yards, while Sophomore Josh Baggerly (Battle Creek/Pennfield) had three receptions for 24 yards. Baggerly also had 10 carries for a team-high 21 yards. Defensively, senior Chris Behnke (Bellevue/Olivet), sophomore Edric Miller (Battle Creek/Central) and freshman De'Marko Reed (Battle Creek/Central) all recorded nine tackles.

Wheaton finished the game with 528 yards of total offense. Joey Skogen led the ground game with 12 carries for 84 yards. Jordan Roberts and Garrett Meador combined to complete 19-of-27 passes for 256 yards. Freddy Ellis had five catches for 106 yards. Micah Markley had seven total tackles and two interceptions.

Following a bye week next Saturday, the Comets will open Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play Saturday, Oct. 9, by hosting Adrian College. Kickoff for the Homecoming game is 2 p.m.