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

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Oct. 31, 2009) - The North Central College football team's six-game winning streak came to an end Saturday, as the Cardinals came out on the short end of a 28-22 overtime contest with the Illinois Wesleyan University Titans at Wilder Field.

The loss drops North Central (6-2, 4-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) into a three-way tie for first place in the CCIW standings with IWU and Wheaton College.

The Titans (7-1, 4-1 CCIW) came through with a score on the game's first possession, driving 74 yards in nine plays. Quarterback Kraig Ladd completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Chris Messina, giving Illinois Wesleyan an early 7-0 advantage.

North Central's opening drive stalled as the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs at the IWU 14-yard line, but  linebacker Scott Skuteris pounced on a fumble two plays later to give the visitors new life. Aaron Fanthorpe needed one play to capitalize on the Titans' miscue, throwing a 19-yard TD pass to Hank Johnston with 4:30 left in the opening period. The score remained tied at 7-7 when the teams departed the field for halftime.

After completing 8 of 10 passes for 129 yards, Fanthorpe did not return to the game in the second half. Freshman signal-caller Spencer Stanek took the reins of the Cardinals' offense and drove the team down the field for the first score of the third period, throwing a 25-yard scoring strike to Steve Hlavac. Ladd countered with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Dayton Burnett on the ensuing possession, but North Central blocked the extra-point attempt to maintain a slim lead at 14-13.

IWU's Robert Beauchamp intercepted a pass late in the third quarter to give the hosts possession at their own 42. The Titans took the lead 11 plays later, as Ladd ran for a three-yard TD. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 19-14. Illinois Wesleyan forced a Cardinal punt on the next drive and drove for a 22-yard field goal by Michael Fenger, and the North Central offense took the field with a 22-14 deficit and 8:58 on the clock.

Nick Kukuc returned the Titans' kickoff to the Cardinals' 41-yard line. After an IWU pass interference penalty, Stanek threw a 40-yard pass to Hlavac, then ran five yards to the end zone on the next play. Stanek also completed a two-point conversion pass to Joe Antonacci, tying the score at 22-22 with 8:17 still to go.

Both teams had two more opportunities to score a game-winner in regulation, but were turned away each time. The Cardinals' offense took the field first in overtime, but was unable to move the ball and a 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide. Ladd ran for 24 yards on two carries after the Titans got the ball, and after a pair of five-yard penalties, threw a 10-yard pass to Mike Sloboda for the winning touchdown.

Stanek finished the game 8 of 22 passing for 120 yards. He also gained 31 yards on the ground to share the team rushing lead with Phillip Rossberg. Hlavac caught seven passes for 106 yards. Joe Schneiderbauer paced the Cardinals' defense with nine tackles and two tackles for loss, while Josh McLeod, Scott Hogan and Willie Hayes each made seven stops.

Ladd completed 23 of 48 passes for 340 yards and three TDs while also leading the Titans in rushing with 67 yards on 13 attempts. Messina caught 11 passes for 150 yards. Nick Nikolich led IWU in tackles with 10.

The Cardinals travel to Augustana College on Saturday. Kickoff at Ericson Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.