The sting of last season’s loss at North Central College not only stuck with Wheaton’s Mark Forcucci the whole offseason, it even helped him decide to come back to the Thunder for a fifth season.
Wheaton was shut out in North Central’s homecoming game last season, but Forcucci and the Thunder had a chance at redemption in the same situation Saturday.
“Especially after last year, frankly getting embarrassed the way we did, to come out here and get one back, it means a lot to us,” Forcucci said. “It means a lot to this program.”
Forcucci guided the Thunder back from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit as they won 13-10 against the Cardinals, who were ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division III, one spot ahead of Wheaton. Caleb Ryan hit an 18-yard field goal with five seconds left to cap the comeback.
Forcucci went 18-for-33 passing for 272 yards and ran for a team-high 36 yards for Wheaton (6-0, 4-0 in the CCIW). Matt Crider scored a 4-yard touchdown and punched in the 2-point conversion with 3:50 left in the fourth to tie it at 10.
Zeke Harris had 18 tackles, including eight solos, 6½ tackles for a loss and 1½ sacks. He also had the interception that set up the winning field goal.
Garret Wilson’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Jack Rummell with 6:43 left in the fourth gave NCC (4-1, 2-1) a 10-2 lead. The Cardinals, who entered the game averaging 458 yards of offense, were held to 165.
Wheaton coach Jesse Scott wasted no time talking to Forcucci after the Thunder fell to eventual national champion Wisconsin-River Falls in last season’s quarterfinals.
“I waited about five minutes to ask him if he was going to run it back one more time, which is a pretty unfair question in the moment,” Scott said. “I didn’t hesitate to plant that seed.”
Down the stretch Saturday, Forcucci showed why Scott has so much faith in him. He had completions of 26 yards to Caleb Thitherington and 25 yards to Sam McFadden to set up Crider’s touchdown run. He then found Seth Kortenhoven for a 34-yard gain on the play after Harris’ interception to set up the winning field goal.
“He’s just an absolute joy to coach,” Scott said. “He’s got this incredible ability to make everybody on the team feel like they matter.
“Just a ridiculous competitor. Down the home stretch of the game, we saw the absolute best of Mark Forcucci.”
Harris’ interception came on a tipped ball by Brett Dieter.
“Dieter saw it coming, picked up on it, tipped it up in the air and it was a little gift from heaven to me,” Harris said.
All that was left was for Ryan to finish it off. The former Wheaton soccer player had lobbied for a chance to join the team this season as a fifth-year senior.
“There’s a word that my coach gave me the past two weeks, and it’s ‘calm,’” Ryan said. “When I’m calm, I believe that I can compete with anybody and make any field goal in any situation.”
The loss puts North Central in an unfamiliar position. Coach Brad Spencer was 62-2 in his fifth season coming into the game, his only two losses coming in national championship games. The Cardinals had beaten Wheaton five straight times.
That loss to Wheaton in 2019 was also the last time NCC lost a regular-season game.
“It will be new territory for me and the coaches and the team,” Spencer said. “We’ve been challenged like we’ve never been challenged before. That’s the beauty of playing good teams.”
Meanwhile, Wheaton is in the driver’s seat for not only a CCIW title, but also the top seed in the postseason.
“This is potentially the first time we’ve been in a position like this in a long time,” Scott said.
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Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Daily Herald.