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

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Sept. 10: Webber International University Warriors (0-0) at North Central College Cardinals (1-0) 

Kickoff: 1 p.m., Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium
Video: Naperville Community Television, Channel 17/nctv17.com
Radio: 89.1-FM WONC
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/ncc/football/???????
Game Updates: @NCC_Athletics
Series History: first meeting

Setting the Scene: After coming up big in the fourth quarter to secure a season-opening win, the Cardinals get the home portion of their schedule started against a second straight new opponent.

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

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 9 in this week's D3football.com Top 25 Poll, rising four spots from their ranking in the preseason. 

The Cardinals also appeared in the top 25 in two national preseason publications, sitting 16th in the Top 25 published by Lindy's Sports Annuals and 23rd in the Top 25 Poll produced by The Sporting News.

Webber International received votes in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll but fell outside the top 25.

Scouting the Warriors: Webber International is preparing for its first regular-season game of the year. The Warriors played an exhibition game on Aug. 27 against the University of God's Chosen, winning, 29-0, in a rain-shortened contest. A second exhibition against the College of Faith, scheduled for last Saturday, was cancelled due to weather.

The Warriors return just six starters from last year's team, just two of which return on offense.

The Warriors are making their second trip to Illinois in as many seasons, venturing to Chicago in 2015 to take on St. Xavier and losing by a narrow 37-34 margin. Webber will also make stops in Texas, Georgia and Virginia this season.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central opened the 2016 campaign on Saturday on the road, rolling to a large early lead and making a series of clutch plays late to secure a 35-21 victory at Robert Morris-Chicago.

The Cardinals scored three times through the air in the first period, the first of which came in the first minute of play as Broc Rutter found Alex Ulmer for a 50-yard touchdown pass. Rutter also threw a three-yard TD strike to Ryan Kuhl and a 48-yard score to Michael LeBlanc before the first period expired.

After heading into halftime with a 21-7 lead, North Central increased its lead further in the third quarter on Rutter's 38-yard TD pass to Austin Breunig. After establishing a North Central single-season record with 18 rushing touchdowns a season ago, this was Breunig's first collegiate touchdown reception.

The Eagles narrowed the gap to 28-21 and had the ball with a chance to level the score late in the contest when cornerback Pat Cravens picked off a pass which glanced off the hands of a Robert Morris receiver and returned it 27 yards to the end zone.

Rutter finished the game 16 of 26 passing for 288 yards, and Ulmer set new career highs for receptions (8) and receiving yards (164). Breunig carried the ball 22 times for 92 yards.

The Cardinals' defense forced five turnovers, a higher total than in any game last season. Jeremy Niklos contributed two interceptions while Emonte Logan and Kevin Nalefski each recovered fumbles. Cravens finished with a career-high 13 tackles and Niklos totaled eight.

Cravens Receives Team of the Week Nod: In recognition of his performance against Robert Morris, Cravens was one of two cornerbacks selected to the D3football.com Team of the Week, presented by Scoutware. 

The Team of the Week is the national honor roll for the top performers throughout Division III each week during the season.

Rutter Makes History in Debut: Rutter's 288 yards passing last week ranks as the highest total ever by a North Central quarterback in his first collegiate game, and is the second-highest total by a Cardinal signal-caller in his first start.

Spencer Stanek threw for 361 yards in his first start as a sophomore, a 41-7 victory over Cornell College in 2010.

North Central vs. the NAIA: Last week's game was the Cardinals' first against a NAIA opponent since a 70-26 victory over Bethel University (Tennessee) on Sept. 10, 2011. North Central put the game away early with a 35-point second quarter and totaled 392 rushing yards in the Cardinals' first NAIA encounter since the NCAA's creation of Division III in 1973.

North Central dealt Robert Morris its first loss to a Division III team in the program's young history. The Eagles had beaten the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, a national quarterfinalist in 2015, the past two seasons.

North Central Career Rankings:  Brown and Breunig currently rank 14th (1,374) and 15th (1,325), respectively, in the Cardinals' history in career rushing yards. Breunig also ranks 12th in rushing touchdowns (18), 13th in total touchdowns (19) and 18th in all-purpose yards (1,634).

Quarterback Justin Hunniford currently sits 11th all-time in touchdown passes (10), 12th in completed passes (115) and 14th in passing yards (1,500).

Ryan Kuhl ranks 10th all-time in touchdown receptions (11) while Ulmer ranks 16th (8). Ulmer is also 14th in receiving yards (990) and 18th in receptions (57).
 
CCIW Preseason Poll: The Cardinals were ranked second to defending champion Wheaton by just a single point in the CCIW's annual preseason coaches' poll.

The Cardinals received 60 points and four first-place votes in this year's voting, while Wheaton received 61 points and five first-place votes. North Central and Wheaton were ranked either first or second on each of the nine coaches' ballots, and one or both teams has won or shared the CCIW title in each of the past 10 seasons.

Illinois Wesleyan is ranked third in this year's preseason poll with 49 points, followed by Carthage (41), Augustana (39), North Park (25), Carroll (21), Millikin (15) and Elmhurst (13). Carroll returns to the CCIW this season for the first time since 1991.

'Red Zone' Returns in 2016: Once again, fans of North Central College football can get an insider's look at the Cardinals' football program, as 'The Red Zone' highlight show returns for its ninth season on Naperville Community Television, Channel 17.

The show airs each Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and midnight, Friday at 8:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 11:30 p.m., Saturday at 8:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. It will feature interviews with coaches and players, highlights of the previous week's game, and a look ahead to the upcoming opponent.

Each show is viewable online at nctv17.com and is archived at youtube.com/northcentralsports as well as the newly-redesigned northcentralcardinals.com.