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Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Dec. 14 (NCAA Division III National Semifinal):
North Central College Cardinals (13-0) at University of Mount Union Purple Raiders (13-0)

Kickoff: 12 p.m. (Eastern time), Mount Union Stadium (click here for location information from Mapquest.)
Live Video: Provided by ESPN at espn.go.com.
Radio: 89.1-FM WONC.
Live Stats: Links will be available at www.ncaa.com/scoreboard/football/d3/2013.
Game Updates: www.twitter.com/NCC_Athletics
Series History: First meeting

Setting the Scene: Still thawing out after a frigid quarterfinal win, the Cardinals hit the road for their first-ever national semifinal against the 11-time national champions.

Series History: This is the first football meeting between the two schools.

North Central's last game against an Ohio Athletic Conference opponent was a 28-9 second-round playoff win against Ohio Northern in 2010. Mount Union's most recent game against a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin team was a 45-24 national semifinal win over Wheaton in 2008.

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 4 in the most recent national top 25 polls released by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association. Mount Union has been ranked No. 1 all season in both polls.

Scouting the Purple Raiders: Mount Union advanced to the national semifinals for the 19th consecutive season on Saturday, overcoming a furious comeback attempt and defeating Wesley in a 62-59 shootout.

The Purple Raiders opened the game determined to put Wesley away, scoring 31 first-quarter points. Mount Union scored on the first play from scrimmage and returned a punt and an interception for a touchdown in the opening 15 minutes.

Trailing, 48-20, at halftime, Wesley scored three straight touchdowns to close the deficit to a single touchdown, but the Wolverines were never able to take the lead. Mount Union recovered a fumble in Wesley territory and scored on a 16-yard run by quarterback Kevin Burke three plays later which turned out to be the game winner.

 Despite giving up more than 600 yards of total offense, Mount Union did force six turnovers which helped lead to three scoring drives of 23 yards or less. Burke completed 16 of 27 passes for 280 yards, running for two TDs and throwing three scoring passes to senior wideout Sherman Wilkinson. Freshman tailback Bradley Mitchell gained 134 yards and scored a touchdown on 27 carries.

Sophomore strong safety Alex Kocheff turned in a team-high 11 tackles for the Purple Raiders, while sophomore cornerback Tre Jones intercepted two passes.

Mount Union has advanced to the national championship game each of the past eight seasons, winning three of those times, and has won 11 total national championships. The Purple Raiders won last year's title game, 28-10, over St. Thomas (Minn.)

Mount Union currently ranks first in the nation in scoring offense (49.6 ppg), first downs (340) and third-down conversion percentge (.578) while ranking second in total offensive yards (536.7 ypg) and passing efficiency (187.46). Burke has thrown for 3,351 yards and a nation-leading 43 touchdowns with just six interceptions while also running for 904 yards and a team-high 11 TDs. Senior receiver Jack Nicholls leads the way with 75 catches for 1,105 yards. Mitchell has run for 1,226 yards and eight scores.

The Purple Raiders rank 12th nationally in total defense (273.7 ypg) and 10th in turnovers forced (32). Kocheff has a team-best 83 tackles, while sophomore defensive end Tom Lally has 10 quarterback sacks.

Last Week for the Cardinals: North Central won its first-ever quarterfinal game on Saturday, braving sub-zero temperatures to cruise past sixth-ranked Bethel, 41-17, on the Royals' home field.

The Cardinals broke the game open with three tocuhdowns in a seven-minute span across the first and second quarters and forced a total of five turnovers, hitting the 40-point mark for the eighth time in the past nine games.

Ryan Kent ran for a game-high 109 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns for the second straight game, once again tying North Central's single-game record. Spencer Stanek completed 15 of 27 passes for 249 yards and two TD throws to Chad O'Kane, while safety Shane Dierking intercepted his North Central-record 16th career pass and recovered a fumble in addition to his team-best 10 tackles.

North Central is now 10-7 all-time in Division III playoff games. The Cardinals' only previous appearance in the quarterfinals had been a 20-10 loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2010. Stanek and Dierking are among six Cardinals who played in both quarterfinals, along with offensive lineman Greg Whalen, kicker Nick Dace, punter Kevin Looff and defensive lineman Josh Fick.

Century Club: The Cardinals' Sept. 28 win over UW-Stevens Point was the 100th for head coach John Thorne, making him the first Cardinal coach to reach triple digits in the win column.

Thorne is the second-fastest CCIW coach to reach 100 wins, trailing only Augustana coach Bob Reade, who won four national titles in a career which stretched from 1979-1994.

Thorne's 70 victories in CCIW play rank seventh in the history of the conference and his .833 winning percentage against conference opponents is the third-best all-time.

All-North Region Teams: North Central had eight players selected to the D3football.com All-North Region Teams this week, tying the program's best representation on the teams since their inception in 2005.

Shane Dierking was named the North Region's Defensive Player of the Year, joining linebacker Matt Wenger '10 as the only Cardinals to be so honored. Dierking was named to the All-Region First Team along with defensive end Alex Tripp.

Stanek, Whalen, offensive lineman Jace Werkheiser and linebacker Nick Slezak were named to the Second Team, while wide receiver Peter Sorenson and kicker Nick Dace were selected to the Third Team.

Werkheiser is a three-time All-Region honoree, while Dierking and Tripp have made the list twice.

All-CCIW Teams: North Central had a total of 16 players honored with selections to this year's All-CCIW Teams, setting a school record with 12 selections to the First Team.

North Central claimed two of the CCIW's major individual awards, as Stanek was named the Offensive Player of the Year and Dierking was voted the Defensive Player of the Year.

Stanek was joined on the Offensive First Team by Sorenson, tight end A.J. Thomas, Werkheiser and Whalen.

Dierking made the Defensive First Team along with Slezak, defensive back Connor Douglas, Fick, Tripp and defensive lineman John Focosi. Dace made the First Team as well.

Defensive back Trey Hartema made the Second Team, as did O'Kane, Kent and offensive lineman Eric Knaperek.

Dierking and Werkheiser are three-time All-CCIW honorees, while Sorenson, Whalen, Douglas, Fick, Tripp and O'Kane were all selected for the second straight season. North Central's 16 selections matched Illinois Wesleyan for the most in the CCIW.

National Rankings: North Central currently ranks ninth in the nation in total offense (505.2 ypg) and 16th in total defense (278.6 ypg). The Cardinals lead the nation in passing efficiency (189.48) while ranking second in first downs (323) and blocked punts (6), third in completion percentage (.723) and fewest interceptions thrown (3), fourth in fewest tackles for loss allowed (3.85 per game), seventh in scoring offense (46.1 ppg) and 10th in turnovers forced (32), interceptions (20), defensive third-down conversion percentage (.278) and passing efficiency defense (92.19).

Stanek is the Division III national leader in passing efficiency (195.6) and also ranks second in touchdown passes (41) and third in completion percentage (.731). Sorenson ranks sixth (14) and O'Kane is eighth (13), respectively, in touchdown receptions, while Dierking is seventh in interceptions per game (0.6).

Stanek has thrown 235 straight passes without an interception. The Division III record is 305. The national record for fewest passes intercepted per attempt is one in 345. Stanek has just one interception in 335 attempts.

North Central Career Rankings: Dace is North Central's all-time leader in scoring (388), field goals (49) and extra points (241). He also owns five of the six longest field goals in the program's history and is currently the Division III active leader in extra points. Dace ranks third in Division III history in points scored by a kicker and fourth in field goals made.

Stanek ranks second at North Central in completions (527) and passing yards (7,351) while ranking third in touchdown passes (73). Dierking ranks 10th in tackles (200) and pass breakups (20), while Tripp and Focosi rank fourth (21) and eighth (15.5), respectively, in quarterback sacks and Tripp also sits ninth in tackles for loss (33). Kent now ranks eighth in rushing touchdowns (20), ninth in all-purpose yards (2,238) and 10th in rushing yards (1,727).

O'Kane ranks fifth all-time in career receptions (101), while Sorenson is seventh (98) and Ryne Rezac is eighth (95). O'Kane and Sorenson are fifth (1,488) and seventh (1,394), respectively, in receiving yards, while Sorenson is fourth (19) and O'Kane is seventh (15) in receiving touchdowns.

Single-Season Record Watch: North Central has set single-season team school records for total offense (6,567 yards), passing offense (3,359), total touchdowns (82), passing touchdowns (42) and points scored (599). The Cardinals are 175 yards shy of the record for rushing yards (3,383). North Central needs four pass breakups to match the current record of 64 and six tackles for loss to tie the record of 105.

Individual single-season school records have already by set by Stanek (41 TD passes, 24 completion, 3,297 passing yards) and Dace (74 extra-point kicks made). Dace can establish a new single-season scoring record with five more points.

Dierking has tied the single-season record for interceptions (8), while Sorenson is one touchdown reception shy of the record of 15 and 11 receptions short of the record of 81. Kent can tie the record of 17 rushing touchdowns with three more scores.

Stanek is also on pace to establish new North Central single-season records for completion percentage (.731) and passing efficiency (195.6). Nick Slezak needs three tackles for loss to match the single-season record of 22.

Next Week: The winner of today's game will face the winner of the Wisconsin-Whitewater/Mary Hardin-Baylor semifinal in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the Division III national championship game, on Dec. 20 at Salem Stadium in Salem, Va.

Wisconsin-Whitewater defeated Linfield, 28-17, and Mary Hardin-Baylor beat St. John Fisher, 45-23, in the quarterfinal round.