North Central one step away from sixth straight Division III title game
Most Midwestern football teams have been forced to dig their way out of extreme weather the past few weeks.
Top-ranked North Central College played through a blizzard in the second round of the Division III playoffs against Hanover, then survived single-digit temperatures last weekend against Bethel.
North Central coach Brad Spencer had to think back to 2017 to remember a game when adverse weather was such a factor. Including practice days, there's been plenty of snow removal needed on the Naperville campus.
“Give credit to our maintenance staff here,” Spencer said this week. “Also our coaches and players were shoveling during practices, during games. So everybody kind of picked up the shovel and helped.”
Now one win away from their sixth straight trip to the national championship game, the Cardinals have embraced a traditional approach to bad weather — stay grounded.
“We tell our guys all the time this is real football weather,” Spencer said. “I think the guys buy into that. Now this weekend, it's going to feel like a heat wave with it being in the 30s and 40s.”
There wasn't a ton of offense in the snow game. The past two weeks, the Cardinals piled up 312 and 229 rushing yards. Sophomore Donovan McNeal, a Warren High School graduate, ran for 149 and 144 yards, averaging nearly 8 per carry.
“Our guys, they embrace real football weather,” Spencer said. “To do that, you've got to have a run game. You have to control the line of scrimmage.”
North Central had to rebuild the offensive line this season, with just one returning starter. The Cardinals currently rank eighth in the country in rushing offense, and are No. 1 in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
Up until the past two weeks, the passing game has been a plus. New quarterback Garret Wilson, a former walk-on at Oklahoma State, has thrown for 39 touchdowns with just 4 interceptions. Receiver Thomas Skokna (Hinsdale Central) was a Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist, piling up 1,156 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns.
A bonus for North Central has been special teams, with 4 blocked punts and 4 punt return touchdowns this season. Jalen Johnson (Metea Valley) has two of each.
North Central's semifinal opponent, John Carroll from suburban Cleveland, pulled off the upset of the playoffs by beating Mount Union 10-7 in double overtime on Dec. 6. The alma mater of legendary NFL coach Don Shula used to be in the same conference as Mount Union, but jumped from the Ohio Athletic Conference to the North Coast this year, and is now trying to reach the title game for the first time.
The Blue Streaks are third in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 48.8 yards per game, making this an interesting matchup (2:30 p.m., ESPN+).
“They've had some great road wins, so we know they're coming in here confident,” Spencer said. “We know what we're up against and we're excited to be playing in another semifinal.”
North Central defensive tackle John Sullivan (Lakes) was named AP defensive player of the year in Division III.
Redbird road warriors
Another semifinal game looms in FCS on Saturday, with Illinois State visiting Villanova in a very unexpected matchup (6:30 p.m., ESPN2).
While one side of the FCS bracket has gone chalk and features a semifinal of No. 3 Montana at No. 2 Montana State, neither Illinois State nor Villanova was a top-eight seed, which comes with a first-round bye. The Redbirds (11-4) have won three straight road games in the playoffs.
In fact, this game is a battle of streaks. Illinois State has won eight straight road games overall, since a season-opening loss at Oklahoma. Villanova, meanwhile, has a 23-game home win streak.
“I think our players really enjoy being on the road,” Illinois State coach Brock Spack said. “It's a toughness thing, mental toughness more than physical. We're comfortable being uncomfortable. We like to play on the road, and they like playing at home.”
Redbirds wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz (Rolling Meadows) can make a claim for being MVP of the FCS playoffs. In the three games, he's made 22 catches for 306 yards and 5 touchdowns. He threw a TD pass in the first round against Southeast Louisiana, and had a 93-yard touchdown in last week's win against Cal-Davis.
Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse (St. Francis) has survived some mistakes to throw 3 touchdown passes in each of the past two weeks. Linebacker Patrick Bauer (St. Viator) was the leading tackler against Cal-Davis.
Villanova has won 11 in a row since suffering losses to Penn State and Monmouth early this fall. While the Rittenhouse-Sobkowicz connection has been together for five years, the Wildcats' offense is led by transfers in quarterback Pat McQuaide (Nicholls State) and 1,000-yard receiver Luke Colella (Princeton).
“Their physicality, they're similar to a (Missouri) Valley school,” Spack said. “These are the best running backs (Ja'Briel Mace, Isaiah Ragland) we've seen in a while. I think their quarterback is very efficient. They have good speed at receiver and can run by you.”
Illinois State has been to the FCS title game once before in 2014. Villanova won a national title in 2009.