Greenfield, North Central post big numbers in victory
Ethan Greenfield will never forget his effort Saturday in North Central College's NCAA Division III playoff football opener in Naperville.
But he and his teammates are hoping for something just as memorable in Round 2.
Greenfield set a Cardinals single-game record by rushing for 301 yards on 29 carries and also scored a personal-high 5 touchdowns as the nation's top-ranked offense rolled over visiting Wabash 51-15.
No. 5-ranked North Central improved to 10-1 and will travel to Alliance, Ohio, next weekend for a battle with top-ranked and unbeaten Mt. Union. The Purple Raiders beat Hanover 65-14 in their playoff opener.
"It's really cool cause there a ton of great backs to have come through here," Greenfield said of his records, which also includes most yards rushing in a single season, 1,609. "It's really just a blessing ... those dudes paved the way for how great this program is, how we run the ball and how we play defense. It's really nice to see my name up there. Hopefully, I brought honor to them too."
Greenfield was quick to credit a strong offensive line led by junior Sharmore Clarke.
"We came in kind of talking about our first play and how it was going to be a tone setter," said Greenfield, who gained 31 yards on his first carry on his way to a 198-yard, 4-TD first half. "I think that perfectly paved the way for the rest of the day.
"It just spiked up the confidence of the offensive line. If they're confident and they're ready to do what they're going to do, we're going to have huge running lanes the entire day. It's all them. I can't stress enough how great those five up front are. All that happened today really is just the epitome of how great they are."
Also playing well again were Cardinals quarterback Broc Rutter and wide receiver Andrew Kamienski, who have had huge impacts on the Cardinals' potent attack all season. Rutter, from Neuqua Valley, was 17 of 19 for 230 yards. His top target caught 9 passes for 163 yards and a score.
With the Cardinals ground game unstoppable, the Little Giants (7-4) had no answers while trying to slow down the hosts' attack. The Cardinals scored touchdowns on their first four drives while building a 28-12 lead at the half and didn't punt once.
"Clearly we could not stop them on offense. It's just they're so dynamic with so many weapons," Wabash coach Don Morel said. "We hoped to slow them down and make them kick field goals to finish ... that was going to be our best chance to win the game. It's just very hard to do. Offensively, that's the best team we've seen, and I've been at Wabash eight years. They're just so dynamic at the quarterback, running back and wide receiver.
"If you try and play six guys on the run you'll give up 1,200 yards passing to them."
Rutter and his coach are excited about the chance to play one of the nation's legendary football programs in Round 2.
"This is what you play the game for to play these types of games," Rutter said. "Going in to play the No. 1 team in the country on the road. They've been doing this for years. It's going to be really fun."
Cardinals coach Jeff Thorne added: "We're very pleased to be moving on. What an opportunity to be able to go to Alliance (Ohio) and play the machine. We're looking forward to the opportunity."