FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Nov. 21, 2013 - The North Central College football team enters the 2013 postseason ranked among the nation's finest at the NCAA Division III level in several categories on both offense and defense.
The Cardinals are also entering the final stanza of an exceptional four-year effort by a member of their special-teams unit, as kicker Nick Dace is in the senior season of a career which has seen him re-write the North Central and College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) record books.
The Cardinals' primary placekicker the past four seasons, Dace enters this week's game as the Division III active leader in extra-point kicks made (220), while ranking third among all current players in field goals (48) and fifth in total points (364), all of which are North Central records. Dace currently ranks fourth all-time in Division III in points scored by kicking.
"I'm very grateful," Dace says. "Having such a high-powered offense the past four years definitely helped. I was lucky enough to come in as a freshman and compete for the starting job, and being able to play with the great players who have been here, you're bound to be successful."
The owner of all of North Central's career kicking records by his sophomore year, Dace shares the single-season record for field goals made (13) and set the school record for extra points (60) in 2011 before turning a perfect 58 for 58 effort last season. He claimed sole possession of the Cardinals' single-game record by connecting on four attempts in the regular-season finale against Augustana College last Saturday.
Dace tallied 17 total points against Augustana, tying a CCIW single-game record to go with the single-season records of 68 total points and 41 extra points in conference play he set this year. Also the holder of the CCIW career records for points (241), field goals (33) and extra points (139) against conference teams, Dace was selected to the All-CCIW First Team for the first time this season.
Emerging as the Cardinals' starter at the position as a freshman, Dace has had to compete to keep it every year. Present every step of the way has been teammate and classmate Kevin Looff, North Central's kickoff specialist the last three years before taking over as the team's punter in 2013.
"Kevin has always been there pushing me," Dace says. "We've become really good friends, so that's been great to have. No matter what we do, there's always an element of competition to it."
In addition to the competitive day-to-day environment, Dace and the other North Central kickers and punters have benefited from the tutelage of assistant coach Adam Pucylowski '09, a four-year punter for the Cardinals.
"That's definitely something that I think is special to our program," Dace points out. "I feel like a lot of Division III programs don't have a coach that's so specialized in kicking. Having someone who's so knowledgeable to bounce things off of is very helpful, especially when I'm struggling sometimes."
Such wise counsel was important early in this season, when Dace missed seven of his first eight field-goal attempts. He bounced back by firing a school-record 56-yard kick through the uprights against Carthage College on Oct. 26 (view video of the kick HERE), the second-longest successful field goal in Division III this season and the first of eight straight made attempts heading into this week's game.
"Early in the season, it was more on me than him," Pucylowski says. "It was a technical flaw that I missed and needed to get corrected. We also made some adjustments switching to Ryne Rezac as the holder, and I think that really allowed Nick to get into a comfort zone. They were able to develop some cohesion as far as getting the ball down fast, and Nick is able to see the ball and make good contact consistently."
"I had to switch holders after having Tyler Rasche do it for two years, so part of the problem was in my own head," Dace says. "I lost a little bit of confidence, but luckily we got that back. I think the big turning point was (in a 46-17 win) at Illinois Wesleyan. I put in three field goals when we really needed them, so that helped me get a lot of confidence back."
Much of Pucylowski's work with his kickers has involved mental training, a key element in a high-pressure position.
"As a kicker, because you get so few chances in a game, you have all the eyes on you," he says. "A lot of the training I've done the last couple of years with Nick and Kevin has been more mental than anything, enabling them to shut out crowd noise and distractions and get to a place where it's just you and the ball. Nick has gotten to that point where he can shut everything out, forget about the last kick and focus on the next one."
Dace has also worked diligently in the weight room to build strength, which has enabled him to take over the team's kickoff duties this season as well. He has averaged 57.1 yards on kickoffs this season and the Cardinals ranked second in the CCIW in kickoff coverage during conference play in 2013.
"He's done a good job building effective muscle," Pucylowski says. "He's much more fluid and efficient with how he kicks the football. Even last year, his kickoffs landed around the 15- or 20-yard line, and this year he's able to put them inside the five-yard line a lot more consistently."
As he and his classmates gear up for one final pursuit of the program's first trip to the national championship game, Dace looks forward to the opportunity to ply his trade with the game in the balance.
"I've had dreams about it," he says. "Although it's a little nerve-wracking sometimes to think that it might come down to that, I love that feeling that everything's on me. Hopefully, if it comes down to that, I can put it through."
Dace and the fourth-ranked Cardinals (10-0) will kick off their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Division III Football Championship on Saturday, hosting Albion College (8-2) at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. Action is scheduled to get under way at noon. Links to live video, audio and in-game statistics can be accessed by clicking HERE.
