The Wheaton Academy Warriors lost a hard-fought game on the road against the Aurora Christian Eagles Friday night by a score of 34-33. The Warriors finish the season 5-4 and expect to make the playoffs for the 3rd time in 4 years. The Warriors were down by 14 late in the game and were able to rally to make it close, but ultimately came up short against the Eagles.
The Warriors jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a
Ben Thorson to
Steven Ryan touchdown, and a second score on a
Cristian Carstens touchdown run. Aurora Christian answered with a quick score, and after a Jack Ryken 33- yard field goal the Warriors lead 17-7. Aurora Christian scored twice more before the half, and the Warriors were able to kick another field goal with time expiring to make the score 21-20 at halftime in favor of Aurora Christian.
The Warriors had trouble scoring in the second half and found themselves in a 34-20 hole late in the game. With 2 minutes remaining, the Warriors scored on a 50-yard screen pass from Thorson to Carstens. The Warriors recovered and onside kick and marched right down the field to bring the score within 1. After missing an extra point and failing to recover another onside kick, the Eagles ran out the clock for the 34-33 final.
On offense the Warriors accumulated 489 yards of offense. Thorson completed 26 of 41 passes for 383 yards and 2 touchdowns while also running one in.
Steven Ryan caught 9 passes for 138 yards and 1 touchdown.
Noah Jones caught 6 passes for 102 yards.
On defense
Jay Callentine was the leading tackler with 12 total stops with 2 tackles for loss.
Trevor Donna also had a good night with 10 tackles and 1 tackle for loss.
Next Week the Warriors will travel to play their first round opponent for the playoffs. The pairing will be determined Saturday night.
