Football

Football Week 10 Preview: Millikin

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Setting the Scene:  The Cardinals look to extend a run of explosive performances into the final week of the regular season as they seek a 15th straight victory over the Big Blue.

Series History: This is the 74th football meeting between the institutions. The Big Blue own a 37-35-1 lead in the all-time series, but North Central has won the last 14 meetings dating back to 2005. 

The teams met in Naperville in last year's regular-season finale, and the Cardinals staked themselves to a 28-0 first-quarter lead on the way to a 55-12 victory.  

Broc Rutter completed 18 of 22 passes for 251 yards and connected for touchdowns with four different receivers, while a balanced North Central rushing attack which yielded 343 total yards was paced by Ethan Greenfield, who gained 104 on just eight carries. 

Storm Simmons paced the Cardinal defense with seven tackles and two quarterback sacks, while Zach Greenberg recovered a fumble and Zach Butler picked off a pass.
 

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 6 in the most recent NCAA Division III National Top 25 Polls released by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

Scouting the Big Blue: Millikin improved to 5-4 last week with a 35-28 overtime victory at WashU. 

Trailing, 28-21, late in the fourth quarter, Millikin tied the game with a 16-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a six-yard touchdown pass from Cal Pohrte to Colton Lockwood.  

Pohrte scored on a five-yard run on the first possession of overtime, and defensive back David Rivers sealed the victory with an interception two plays after WashU took possession. 

The Big Blue average 27 points per game and have scored at least 30 in five of eight CCIW games. Pohrte has directed the Millikin offense all season, throwing for 2,230 yards and 19 touchdowns while also running for three scores. Senior wideout Jordan Smith (53 catches, 1,001 yards, 10 TDs) is the focal point of the passing attack while tailback Ladavion Severado has rushed for a team-high 667 yards and five scores. 

Millikin's defense has yielded 28.7 points and 361 yards per game. Linebackers Matthew Brown (67 tackles) and Jaquan Harrell (13.5 tackles for loss) have led the way. 

Millikin has been particularly aggressive on fourth down this season, attempting 43 fourth-down conversions (nearly double that of any other CCIW team) and converting 19.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central celebrated Senior Day in style Saturday, dominating throughout a 69-14 victory over Illinois Wesleyan. 

The Cardinals scored on nine of their first 10 offensive possessions and tallied the final 38 points of the contest, owning a 622-227 advantage in total yards and topping the 60-point mark for the third time in four weeks. 

Andrew Kamienski caught seven passes for 155 yards and caught all four of a school-record tying four touchdown passes in the first half. He now has 18 TD catches this season, establishing new North Central and CCIW records. 

Ethan Greenfield ran for two scores and caught another, marking the fifth straight game he has contributed at least two touchdowns. Greenfield has averaged nearly 217 all-purpose yards per game the last three weeks. 

The North Central defense has not allowed any of its last five opponents to gain more than 300 yards, and is on pace to establish a new single-season school record for fewest rushing yards allowed per game (67.0).

National Statistical Rankings: The Cardinals currently rank first among 247 Division III programs in total offense (576.7 yards per game) and scoring offense (54.6 points per game) while ranking third in passing efficiency (196.46) and first downs (237), fifth in passing offense (339.8 ypg), seventh in scoring defense (11.7 ppg) and eighth in total defense (237.0 ypg). 

Kamienski is the national leader in touchdown receptions and ranks fourth in receptions per game (8.7) and fifth in receiving yards per game (120.8). Rutter ranks second in passing efficiency (204.7), passing touchdowns (38) and completion percentage (72.3%), while Greenfield ranks fourth in rushing yards per carry (7.92). 

 

Broc Rutter
Andrew Kamienski

CCIW Career Records: Rutter has established new CCIW records for career pass completions (691), passing touchdowns (104) and passing yards (9,479) in CCIW games. 

CCIW Single-Season Records:  The Cardinals have set new CCIW single-season records for points scored (448), total offensive yards (4,682) and passing touchdowns (38) in conference play. North Central's current averages of 585.3 yards per game and 56.0 points per game are well above the current record of 513.7 (Wheaton, 2012) and 49.6 (North Central, 2018). 

Rutter now has 35 touchdown passes against CCIW foes to break the previous single-season record of 28, set by Millikin's Nicco Stepina last season. 

Kamienski has caught 68 passes for 984 yards against conference foes. The CCIW record for receptions in a single season (72) is jointly held by Ed Brady of Illinois Wesleyan (1983) and Jim Jorden of Wheaton (1985), while the conference record for receiving yards (1,110) was set by Wheaton's Steve Thonn in 1983.

 

North Central Career Rankings:  Rutter is the Cardinals' all-time leader in pass completions (903), passing attempts (1,339), passing yards (12,501) touchdown passes (127).  

Kamienski is the program's all-time leader in career receptions (207) and receiving yards (2,825) and ranks second all-time in receiving touchdowns (33), fifth in all-purpose yards (3,152) and seventh in points scored (198) while Ayhan ranks 11th in quarterback sacks (14.5) and 18th in tackles for loss (22.5). 

In just his second season of collegiate play, Greenfield ranks ninth all-time in total touchdowns (25), 10th in rushing touchdowns (22), 11th in rushing yards (1,826) and 14th in all-purpose yards (2,320).

Around the CCIW: Wheaton plays at Elmhurst this week, while Augustana visits Carthage, WashU travels to Carroll and North Park plays at Illinois Wesleyan. 

This Day in Cardinal Football History: 2013 vs. Augustana – The Cardinals closed out the third 10-0 regular season in their history with a 53-14 rout of the Vikings, scoring the game’s first 23 points. Quarterback Spencer Stanek completed 15 of 20 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns, while linebacker Nick Slezak made four tackles for loss and scored on a fumble return.


 

'Red Zone' Returns in 2019: 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 12th season on Naperville Community Television, Channel 17. 

The show airs each Thursday at 8 p.m., Friday at 12:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 3:30, 7:00 and 9:30 p.m., Saturday at 12:30 and 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 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 at northcentralcardinals.com.