North Central beats Hope, gets help in Division III playoff bracket

North Central picked up three wins in one Saturday.

The Cardinals rolled to a 41-21 victory over Hope (Michigan) in Round 3 of the Division III playoffs in Naperville.

Running back Joe Sacco (St. Edward) rushed for 120 yards on 19 carries, while receiver Thomas Skokna (Hinsdale Central) added 4 receptions for 119 yards.

The added bonus for North Central were a pair of upsets on its side of the playoff bracket. Defending champion SUNY-Cortland lost to Springfield (Massachusetts) 40-28. So instead of traveling to New York for a rematch of last season's championship game loss, the Cardinals will host Springfield at noon next Saturday in a quarterfinal matchup.

Then No. 1 overall seed Saint John's (Minnesota) lost to Susquehanna (Pennsylvania) 41-38 on a walk-off field goal. North Central (12-0) is the highest-seeded team left on its side of the bracket and could host two home games to reach its fifth straight title game.

The Cardinals had a bit of a slow start on offense, with their first two drives ending in an interception and punt. They took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Charles Coleman early in the second quarter. But Hope converted a fake punt and tied the score with a 1-yard run by Ben Wellman.

Sacco's 6-yard TD run put North Central up 14-7, then the defense got a big play before halftime. An interception by Rahmereon Roby led to Skokna's 3-yard TD reception with 25 seconds left to make it 21-7 at halftime.

Quarterback Luke Lehnen scored on a 26-yard run in the third quarter and added a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Bobby Behmer in the fourth.

Jahmar Daniel secured a second-half interception for the Cardinals. CCIW co-defensive player of the year John Sullivan (Lakes) had one of three tackles for loss. North Central had nice balance on offense, finishing with 252 rushing yards and 234 passing.