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

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Sept. 23: North Central College Cardinals (2-0, 1-0 CCIW) at Millikin University Big Blue (2-0, 0-0 CCIW)

Kickoff: 1 p.m., Frank M. Lindsay Field
Video: portal.stretchinternet.com/millikin/
Radio: 89.1-FM WONC
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/millikin/football
Game Updates via Twitter: @NCC_Athletics
Series History: Millikin leads, 36-32-1

Setting the Scene: The Cardinals continue conference play against a third straight unbeaten opponent, hitting the road for the first time in 2017.

Series History: This is the 70th football meeting between the two institutions. Millikin leads the all-time series, 36-32-1, though the Cardinals have each of the last 12 encounters.

The teams met in Naperville Sept. 24 of last season, as North Central dominated throughout a 42-7 victory.

The Cardinals traveled at least 54 yards on five of their six scoring drives and wound up outgaining Millikin, 409-285. Broc Rutter completed 13 of 21 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns, while Austin Breunig gained 94 yards on 22 rushing attempts and scored twice.

Tommy Sora and Ben Wiley each recorded three tackles for loss for the Cardinals' defense, and Sora also claimed two of North Central's six quarterback sacks.

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 5 nationally this week by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Assocation.

Scouting the Big Blue: Millikin was idle last week. The Big Blue's most recent game was Sept. 9, when it negated an early 10-0 deficit to post a 28-26 victory at Rose-Hulman.

Millikin took the lead late in the first half after quarterback Nicco Stepina completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Perry late in the third quarter. Stepina found Perry again with 3:01 left in the game, this time for a 93-yard score, which wound up sealing the win.

Stepina completed 13 of 32 passes for 362 yards while also gaining 57 yards on 14 rushing attempts. In two games this season, he has thrown for 668 yards and 10 TDs with no interceptions while also leading the Big Blue with 117 rushing yards.

The Big Blue's defense has recorded 19 tackles for loss in those two contests. Defensive back Daniel Jackson is the team's top tackler (14), while defensive end Isaiah Blumenshine has a team-high three tackles for loss.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central turned in a strong second-half effort to defeat then-No. 16-ranked Illinois Wesleyan, 26-13, on Saturday to remain unbeaten in the early season.

Tied with the Titans, 13-13, at halftime, North Central allowed just 71 second-half yards, only 20 of which came on IWU's final five possessions. 
Rutter completed 24 of 37 passes for 226 yards and threw two touchdown passes to Andrew Kamienski, while Liam Crotty converted four field goals to tie the North Central single-game record. Crotty's final field goal of the night, a 39-yarder, was the longest of his career.

Sora and Tyler Oakley each intercepted passes for the North Central defense. Sora also led the team in tackles (9), while Josh Leonhard recorded three of the team's eight tackles for loss.

The victory was North Central's eighth straight over the Titans.
 
CCIW Player of the Week: Sora was voted the CCIW Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Titans, while Wheaton quarterback Spencer Peterson and Augustana kicker Jacob Stytz were recognized on offense and special teams, respectively.

Peterson played a part in four of Wheaton's five touchdowns in a 37-14 win over Carthage on Saturday. He finished with 16 carries for 141 yards and three rushing touchdowns and also passed for a four-yard score.  
 
Stytz tied an Augustana school record with four field goals in the Vikings' 28-25 loss to Carroll on Saturday. He was 4-for-4 including distances of 52, 32, 23 and 45 yards and was 1-for-1 on PATs. 

This Week in the CCIW: Wheaton visits Elmhurst this week, while Carthage plays at Augustana and North Park travels to Illinois Wesleyan. Carroll plays at Wisconsin-La Crosse in non-conference action.

Preseason All-Americans: North Central had three players receive Preseason All-America recognition from D3football.com, as senior offensive tackle Joe Fehrle was named to the First Team and senior defensive end Billy Douds and senior linebacker Tommy Sora were selected to the Second Team.
The Cardinals tied for the most selections of any single team and posted their highest total of Preseason All-America picks since receiving four selections in 2009.

Fehrle was also selected to Preseason All-America Teams in the Street & Smith's and Lindy's Sports preview magazines, and Rutter made the Lindy's Sports list as well.

North Central Career Rankings:  Kuhl ranks third in the Cardinals' history in touchdown receptions (22) and sixth in total receptions (118), while Rutter ranks fourth in touchdown passes (41) and fifth in pass completions (269) and passing yards (3,745). 

Breunig ranks fourth all-time in all-purpose yards (2,977) and seventh in rushing yards (2,200) and rushing touchdowns (24), and Liam Crotty sits sixth in extra-point kicks made (64) and field goals made (14).

Cravens ranks fourth in school history in punt return yards (551), 14th in interceptions (6) and 18th in pass breakups (14). Stuursma currently ranks ninth in tackles (212) and 11th tackles for loss (30) and Billy Douds is 10th in quarterback sacks (13.5) and Warkenthien is 13th in tackles for loss (23.5).

'Red Zone' Returns in 2017: 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 10th season on Naperville Community Television, Channel 17.

The show airs each Thursday at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., Friday at 12:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at midnight. 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 at northcentralcardinals.com.