North Central leaves no doubt who’s No. 1 in Division III football; Wheaton makes case for No. 2
North Central College treated Bethel like it does so many regular-season football opponents these days. But most Cardinals foes aren’t ranked No. 2 in the country like Bethel is.
Or was.
No. 1-ranked North Central dismantled Bethel 44-21 Saturday in Naperville in the season opener, showing why it’s expected to contend for a fourth national championship. The Cardinals, who led late by 30, won their 2025 regular-season games by an average of 47.6 points a game.
Didn’t the players expect this game to be a lot closer?
“Honestly, yeah, pretty much,” receiver David Ballard III said.
In other words it was a great way to start the season, but it was just a start. The Cardinals will save the big celebrations for later in the season. The Stagg Bowl, the Division III championship game, is scheduled for Jan. 9 at Salem, Virginia, and the Cardinals want to be there again.
“I think you learn that no circumstance is too big for us to overcome as long as you just do your 1/11th, keep playing for your teammates,” Spencer said. “I’m sure we’ll look at the film and find things to correct, but from my perspective, just the guys’ mentality throughout the game was pretty level, never too up, never too down. Just there to do a job and get the result that we wanted.”
“This is a great win. We can enjoy it,” added Ballard, who the scored on an 80-yard touchdown reception on the Cardinals’ second play from scrimmage. But, Ballard added, the team is all business even after this big win. “Our coaches push us to work hard all week. That’s what we want to do. That’s what we’re going to do. That’s why we get the results at the end of the game.”
It was a big day for Division III college football in the suburbs. Just about 8 miles away, fifth-ranked Wheaton College edged No. 3 Mount Union 24-23 on a blocked extra point with 22 seconds to play. Could the Thunder be ranked No. 2 by the time they meet CCIW archrival North Central on Oct. 10 for the Little Brass Bell for another 1 vs. 2 matchup? No. 4 Johns Hopkins might have something to say about it.
First the Cardinals have to survive No. 9 Wartburg on the road next week to stay at No. 1. More early-season pressure? Bring it on, say the Cardinals.
“I think the coaches have done a good job of keeping the pressure on us,” said Cardinals defensive back Kaden Hartnett, who broke up four Bethel passes. “Expectations are always high. So it helps us stay focused and there’s no complacency.”
North Central sure didn’t look complacent. The Cardinals looked very well-prepared for the challenge.
“Game 1s are typically your sloppiest games, so you really want to focus on the turnover battle, the red zone and making sure you’ve got 11 guys on the field on every special teams unit,” Spencer said.
The Cardinals didn’t commit any turnovers, while Bethel lost a fumble and three interceptions. The Royals also struggled in the red zone, where North Central thrived.
Wheaton’s victory was its first against 13-time national champion Mount Union in eight meetings and the school considers it the biggest nonconference regular-season win in program history.
“I am really excited for our team to come out of here with a win in Week 1,” Thunder coach Jesse Scott said. “We knew going into the game the type of opponent we were going to be facing and it would require 60 minutes of football. I am not sure we were prepared for it to come down to quite literally the last play of the game. But I am so proud of the way that our players played throughout the course of the game.”
The Thunder ended Mount Union’s 85-game regular-season winning streak. Wheaton plays at Albion next week.
oschwarz@dailyherald.com