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

Box Score
  
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (Oct. 9, 2010) - The North Central College football team is now one of two unbeaten teams in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin after improving to a perfect 5-0 with a 34-14 victory over the Augustana College Vikings at Ericson Field on Saturday.

The Cardinals (2-0 in CCIW play) join Wheaton College as the only undefeated teams in the CCIW after scoring the first 20 points of the game against Augustana and outgaining the hosts, 428-222, in total offense.

North Central scored on the first drive of the contest. On third down-and-seven from the Cardinals' 45-yard line, Cardinal quarterback Brad Crackel connected with Manny Juarez on a 55-yard touchdown pass to give the visitors a 7-0 lead. After a Viking punt, North Central drove 54 yards in nine plays for another score. Crackel threw to Steve Hlavac for a 16-yard completion, which left North Central just one yard from the goal line, and then called his own number for a one-yard TD run to extend the Cardinals' lead to 14-0 with 4:19 left in the first quarter.

North Central posted the lone score of the second quarter with 14:34 on the clock, as Crackel capped off a seven-play, 76-yard drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Joe Antonacci. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the Cardinals with a 20-0 lead that held up until halftime.

Augustana broke up the shutout early in the third quarter, putting together an 11-play, 76-yard drive that culminated in a nine-yard touchdown pass from David Lee to Robert Wood on fourth down with 8:41 to play. The Cardinals answered on the following drive, as Nick Kukuc ran 25 yards for a score with 6:36 remaining to increase the guests' lead to 27-7.

Augustana (3-2, 1-1 CCIW) put together a second scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter, driving 66 yards in 10 plays and scoring on a nine-yard pass from Lee to Zac McCullough with 7:44 to play. Once again, however, the Cardinals answered, as Steve Hlavac ran 43 yards on a reverse to get North Central into Viking territory and Crackel completed the four-play, 60-yard drive with a two-yard TD pass to Alex Haan. 

Crackel finished the game 12 of 19 passing for 191 yards, and Antonacci wound up the Cardinals' leading receiver with three catches for 51 yards. Kukuc ran the ball 10 times for 61 yards, while Jordan Tassio gained 52 yards on 13 carries. Matt Wenger led North Central's defense with 10 tackles and Valente Garza contributed two quarterback sacks.

Lee completed 16 of 21 passes for 134 yards for Augustana, with Corbett Ball catching eight passes for 59 yards. Wood ran 15 times for 64 yards and John Mago finished with a team-high 10 tackles.

The Cardinals host Millikin University (3-2, 0-2 CCIW) on Saturday, with kickoff at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium scheduled for 1 p.m.