North Central gives no quarter
The fifth-ranked North Central College football team had its work cut out for it in the week leading up to Saturday afternoon's NCAA Division III second-round matchup against No. 7 Ohio Northern.
Final exams and Thanksgiving meals got in the way of a normal practice schedule as the Cardinals attempted to become the school's first team to advance to the quarterfinals. North Central can breathe a sigh of relief after starting slow but finishing fast in a 28-9 win over the Polar Bears at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
“That's a great win for all the players that have been here the last nine years and for all the players that have ever played Cardinals football,” North Central coach John Thorne said. “We're so happy this senior group figured out a way to get it done (and advance).”
After punting on their first three possessions and allowing a field goal on Ohio Northern's first possession, the Cardinals (12-0) found paydirt with 5:19 left in the second quarter on quarterback Spencer Stanek's 5-yard keeper.
“A few nervous things happened early where the guys weren't quite ready to play at the speed of a college varsity game,” Thorne said. “Once they got a feel for it, I thought the guys played awfully well.”
After North Central forced a Polar Bears three-and-out and with less than a minute remaining in the half, halfback Nick Kukuc ripped off a 51-yard touchdown run up the gut, out of the pistol formation.
“Games like this, momentum is a big part of the flow of things,” Ohio Northern coach Dean Paul said. “I thought we had some momentum early. Against a quality defense like North Central has, you really have to make the most of your opportunities. ... We had a tough time recovering from their big plays. They did a great job turning momentum in their favor with a couple nice plays.”
Cardinals running back Jordan Tassio broke a 48-yard run on third-and-inches midway through the third quarter, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by Jeff Grunwald to extend the lead to 21-3. Kukuc rushed for 137 yards and another touchdown from 3 yards out in the fourth quarter, while Tassio also went over the century mark as the Cardinals rushed for 285 yards.
“We had a great game plan for what we wanted to do and their defense was set up perfect for it,” North Central offensive lineman Kyle Antos said. “We just weren't executing at first. Once we started executing, we knew we could hit it and (our running backs) started trusting our blocks.”
Perhaps no unit was bigger than the defense, which followed Matt Wenger's lead to shut down the Polar Bears (10-2), who scored their lone touchdown on the last play of the game.
Wenger recorded 18 tackles, 13 of the solo variety in the win, and Josh McLeod recorded his eighth interception of the season.
“Our d-line, they do awesome and command guys to have to block them,” Wenger said. “I'm just lucky enough to get to play behind them and be able to help on some of those plays.”
North Central has another tough matchup next week, hosting the No. 2-seeded but No. 1-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater (12-0), a 45-31 victor over No. 12 Tryne.
“I've never played in a quarterfinal game ever,” said Cardinals receiver Steve Hlavac, who broke the school's all-time receiving mark during the game. “Pop Warner, I've always lost. I've never gotten past 11 wins before so this win feels pretty good. I've never played in December. I've always watched the Stagg Bowl. ...
“We all want(ed) Whitewater to win. We've always wanted to beat the best teams in the country. We want the challenge, so I'm excited.”