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Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Box Score

OLIVET, Mich. (Sept. 27, 2008) – The North Central College football team finished with a familiar result in a new location on Saturday, as the Cardinals' first-ever trip to Olivet College resulted in a 37-7 triumph at the Cutler Athletic Complex.

Central to the Cardinals' success was the play of quarterback Aaron Fanthorpe (Jr., Naperville, Ill./Naperville North), who totaled more than 400 yards of total offense. The signal-caller tallied 355 passing yards, completing 21 of 31 attempts, and threw four touchdown passes. Fanthorpe also ran for 62 yards on seven carries.

The Cardinals (3-0) were in danger of falling behind early, as Olivet safety Alex Hill intercepted Fanthorpe's pass  on North Central's second offensive possession and returned it 56 yards to the visitors' 19-yard line.

A tackle for loss by Nick Swanson (Sr., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) and a quarterback sack by Jim Clendenning (So., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) on the next two plays helped push the Comets back, and a pair of Olivet penalties wound up forcing the hosts to punt from the North Central 35, giving the Cards possession at their own 13-yard line.

North Central 's offense took advantage of the momentum provided by its defensive unit, marching down the field with a series of big plays. Fanthorpe ran 11 yards for a first down before completing a 17-yard pass to Hank Johnston (Jr., Mokena, Ill./Lincoln Way East) and a 26-yard strike to Steve Hlavac (So., Naperville, Ill./Naperville North). An 18-yard run by Dominic Sulo (Jr., Oak Forest, Ill./Mt. Carmel) left North Central just 12 yards from the goal line, and Fanthorpe covered the remaining distance through the air to Joe Sosinski (Sr., New Carlisle, Ind./New Prairie) with 2:09 left in the first quarter, putting the guests in front, 7-0.

A failed fake punt attempt by the Comets gave North Central the ball at its own 39-yard line for its first possession of the second period.  A nine-yard pass from Fanthorpe to Mike MacIntosh (Sr., Decatur, Ill./Mt. Zion) and a 14-yard run by Sulo yielded first downs, and on third down from the Olivet 32, Fanthorpe completed his second TD pass of the day, this time to Perry Welch (Sr., Lanark, Ill./Eastland), to double the Cardinals' lead to 14-0 with 10:51 left in the first half.

North Central forced a punt on the Comets' next drive, but lost a fumble on the first play after regaining possession. Olivet took over on the Cardinals' 17-yard line and needed five plays, all runs, to light up the scoreboard for the first time. Fullback Sean Misko scored from one yard out on third-and-goal, narrowing the gap to 14-7 with 3:38 left before halftime.

The Cardinals needed only 50 seconds to retaliate, covering 65 yards in three plays to score once again. After Sulo opened the drive with a seven-yard run, Fanthorpe threw to Johnston for 23 yards, then found Matt Jones (So., Mt. Zion, Ill./Mt. Zion) for a 35-yard scoring pass with 2:42 on the clock. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the score at 20-7 in North Central's favor.

Olivet threatened to counterpunch yet again on its next drive, as a 45-yard pass from Lukas Linn to Carl Mulder set the Comets up with a first down at the North Central 16-yard line. The Cardinals' defense held firm, forcing Olivet to settle for a 28-yard field goal attempt, which sailed wide of the uprights. Taking over at their own 20 with 1:03 left, the Cardinals attempted to secure one more score, and moved into the home team's territory before a pass by Fanthorpe was tipped and intercepted, once again by Hill, at the Comet 16 with 24 seconds to go.

Taking possession for the first drive of the second half, Olivet used a 33-yard pass from running back Pat Clasgens to Mulder, coupled with a Cardinal penalty, to move into North Central territory. Once again, the visitors' defense stiffened, forcing a 42-yard field goal attempt. Once again, the Comets' try was unsuccessful, as Derek Sulo (Jr., Oak Forest, Ill./Mt. Carmel) tipped the ball as it left the foot of kicker Kyle Zabel.

Taking over at its own 25, North Central drove 69 yards in eight plays on its first possession of the third period to convert a field-goal attempt of its own. Andrew Barciszewski (Fr., Troy, Ill./Triad) connected on a 23-yard kick, increasing the Cardinals' lead to 23-7.

After forcing Olivet to go three-and-out on the ensuing drive, the Cards took over once again on their own 20. The Comets' defense held, forcing a North Central punt, but an offsides penalty gave the guests new life. Fanthorpe made Olivet pay for the miscue, firing his fourth touchdown pass of the night, a 50-yarder to Jones, with 2:25 left in the third period to boost North Central's advantage to 30-7.

The Cardinals kept the Olivet offense bottled up on its next drive as well, and a 23-yard punt return by Joe Rubin (Sr., Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) allowed North Central to begin its next possession at its own 42-yard line. A 10-play, 58-yard drive culminated in the final score of the night, a 34-yard scoring run by Mike Mucha (Jr., Orland Park, Ill./Univ. of Illinois) with 9:06 remaining in the contest.

Dominic Sulo gained a team-high 72 rushing yards on 13 carries for North Central, which recorded 553 yards of total offense. Hlavac  caught five passes for 64 yards, MacIntosh made four grabs for 48 yards, and Jones caught three balls for 86 yards.

Matt Wenger (Jr., Davis, Ill./Dakota) led the Cardinals' defense with 12 tackles, moving into the North Central career top 10 (194). David Treglown (Sr., Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) added seven tackles and Joe Antonacci (Fr., Naperville, Ill./Drake Univ.) and Derek Sulo each made five stops.

The Cardinals open College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play on Saturday, hosting Millikin University (Ill.) at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.