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

Box Score

DECATUR, Ill. (Oct. 3, 2009) - The North Central College football team continued its recent run of dominance Saturday, opening College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play with a 58-0 whitewash of Millikin University at Frank M. Lindsay Field.

The Cardinals have outscored their last three opponents by a score of 182-18, the most dominant three-game stretch in the program's history. North Central also recorded the largest margin of victory by either side in its 63-game series against Millikin, which started in 1922.

Facing a defense heavily slanted toward defending the run, the Cardinals attacked through the air from the start with stunning results. Aaron Fanthorpe completed a 37-yard pass on the game's first play from scrimmage, and delivered the game's first touchdown on a four-yard toss to Jeff Grunwald with 12:36 to play in the first period. Following a Millikin punt, Fanthorpe doubled North Central's lead by capping off an eight-play, 48-yard drive with a 14-yard TD pass to Steve Hlavac. Cardinal linebacker Willie Hayes intercepted a Big Blue pass deep in the hosts' territory on the first play of the next drive, and Fanthorpe followed with a 21-yard pass to Grunwald, giving North Central a 21-0 edge with 7:33 still to play in the opening period.

A short punt near the end of the first quarter set up the Cardinals' first score of the second period, as Fanthorpe took to the air once again and found Hank Johnston for a 42-yard touchdown strike just eight seconds into the second stanza. Fanthorpe  followed with another deep pass to the end zone on North Central's next drive, this time to Joe Antonacci, who raced 68 yards to the goal line.

The visitors' final score of the first half came on the defensive side of the ball, as Hayes stripped the ball from Millikin quarterback Luke Hockaday and ran 32 yards to paydirt, boosting the Cardinals' lead to 42-0. It was the second time Hayes returned a fumble for a touchdown as a collegian, as he did the same from 23 yards out at North Park University last season.

Fanthorpe completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Johnston for the lone score in the third period. It was Fanthorpe's sixth passing TD of the contest, breaking the single-game school record he had shared with Kam Kniss '07. The Cardinals added 10 points in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard field goal by Morgan Sheridan and a 56-yard touchdown run by Nick Kukuc.

Fanthorpe finished the day 12 of 19 passing for 229 yards, with Johnston hauling in four catches for 79 yards. Kukuc's touchdown run made him the Cardinals' top ground gainer with 69 yards on three attempts, while Dominic Sulo gained 60 yards on 17 carries.

Joe Schneiderbauer was North Central's leading tackler with 11 total stops, while Robert Champion made five tackles, including 2.5 quarterback sacks. The Cardinals' defense held Millikin to 190 yards, less than half its season average heading into the game.

The Cardinals host North Park University Saturday at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.