Football

Football Postseason Round 1 Preview: Wabash

NCC Football - Offensive Line

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Live Video/Audio/Stats

Setting the Scene:  The Cardinals open their 12th postseason appearance seeking to extend a run of thrilling performances with a seventh straight victory.

Series History: This is the fourth football meeting between the institutions and just the second in the past 100 years. 

The teams met in the second round of the 2011 playoffs in Crawfordsville, as the Little Giants scored 22 unanswered fourth-quarter points to seize a 29-28 victory. 

North Central built a 28-7 lead, getting two touchdown runs each from Nick Kukuc and Jordan Tassio, but Wabash quarterback Tyler Burke directed three straight touchdown drives in the final period, throwing a one-yard TD pass and also throwing for a two-point conversion with 52 seconds remaining. 

Kukuc finished with a game-high 118 rushing yards on 18 carries, while Joey Michals paced the Cardinal defense with 17 total tackles.
 

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 5 in the most recent NCAA Division III National Top 25 Polls released by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). 

Scouting the Little Giants: Wabash received the North Coast Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the postseason after finishing in a three-way tie atop the NCAC standings with Wittenberg and Denison. 

The Little Giants concluded the regular season Saturday with a 17-13 loss to DePauw in the annual Monon Bell Classic. With the score tied at 10-10, Wabash kicker Schuyler Nehrig connected on a 30-yard field goal to give the Little Giants the lead briefly, but DePauw completed a 62-yard touchdown pass with 38 seconds remaining. 

Wabash's balanced offensive attack has averaged 400 yards and 28.8 points per game this season. Freshman quarterback Liam Thompson has thrown for 1,997 yards and 14 touchdowns, comopleting 61.7 percent of his throws. Another freshman, Cooper Sullivan, is the team's top receiving target (38 catches, 584 yards, 5 TDs), while senior running back Isaac Avant is the team's top rusher with 849 yards and three scores. 

The Little Giants have permitted opponents to gain 334 yards per contest, and 16 of the 21 touchdowns Wabash has allowed have come through the air. Senior linebacker Brandon Yeagy is the team's top tackler (79), while junior defensive end Seth Buresh has 7.5 quarterback sacks and junior defensive back Patrick Kelly has intercepted three passes. 

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central won its sixth straight game on Saturday, closing out the regular season with a 59-32 victory at Millikin. 

The Cardinals owned a 24-7 advantage after one quarter of play and topped the 50-point mark for the third straight week and the fifth time this season. 

Ethan Greenfield accounted for 254 of the team's 506 offensive yards, rushing for 199 on just 14 carries while catching four passes for 55 yards. Greenfield ran for three touchdowns, marking the sixth straight game he has crossed the goal line multiple times. 

Broc Rutter completed 17 of 24 passes for 293 yards and three scores, as Andrew Kamienski made seven grabs for a career-high 182 yards and two TDs. Kamienski established new single-season program records for receptions (85), total touchdowns (20) and points scored (120). 

Ben Wong and Dakota Cremeens each set career highs with 11 total tackles, and Wong forced a fumble that Cremeens recovered in the first quarter which led to a quick score. Bryan Beauchamp turned in three tackles for loss.

Hardy Makes History: DeAngelo Hardy returned Saturday's opening kickoff for an 89-yard touchdown, marking the first time in 30 years a Cardinal has started a game in such a fashion. 

North Central's most recent opening kickoff return to the end zone had been a 90-yard return by Joe Kubik against North Park on Sept. 23, 1989. 

North Central in the NCAA Playoffs: The Cardinals own a 13-11 overall record in the Division III Football Championship, including victories in each of their last 10 first-round games.  

North Central reached the national quarterfinals in 2010 and the national semifinals in 2013. 
 

National Statistical Rankings: The Cardinals currently rank first among 247 Division III programs in total offense (569.6 yards per game) and scoring offense (55.0 points per game) while ranking second in passing efficiency (197.78), fifth in first downs (257), sixth in passing offense (335.1 ypg), ninth in kickoff return average (24.94 yards per return) and 10th in third-down conversion percentage (52.9%). 

Rutter ranks second nationally in passing touchdowns (41) and passing efficiency (205.6) while sitting third in completion percentage (72.2%) and eighth in passing yards (3,120).  

Kamienski ranks third in touchdown receptions (20) and fourth in receiving yards (1,269) and Greenfield ranks fourth in yards per rushing attempt (8.49), ninth in rushing yards (1,308) and 10th in rushing touchdowns (17).

 

DeAngelo Hardy
Ethan Greenfield

CCIW Career Records: Rutter has established new CCIW records for career pass completions (708), passing touchdowns (107) and passing yards (9,772) in CCIW games.

CCIW Single-Season Records:  The Cardinals set new CCIW single-season records for points scored (507), total offensive yards (5,188) and passing touchdowns (41) in conference play.  

North Central's averages of 576.4 yards per game and 56.3 points per game are well above the previous records of 513.7 (Wheaton, 2012) and 49.6 (North Central, 2018) as well. 

Rutter completed 38 touchdown passes against CCIW foes to break the previous single-season record of 28, set by Millikin's Nicco Stepina last season. 

Kamienski caught 75 passes for 1,166 yards against conference foes, breaking the CCIW record for receptions in a single season (72), previously held by Ed Brady of Illinois Wesleyan (1983) and Jim Jorden of Wheaton (1985), while the previous 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 (920), passing attempts (1,363), passing yards (12,794) touchdown passes (130).  

Kamienski is the program's all-time leader in career receptions (214), receiving yards (3,007) and receiving touchdowns (35) while ranking fifth in all-purpose yards (3,334) and points scored (210), while Talha 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 sixth all-time in rushing touchdowns (25) and ninth in total touchdowns (28) and rushing yards (2,025) and all-purpose yards (2,574).

 

The Rest of the Bracket: The winner of this week's game will take on the winner of the first-round game between Mount Union (Ohio) and Hanover (Indiana).  

The other two first-round matchups in North Central's section of the bracket feature Framingham State (Massachusetts) traveling to Wesley (Delaware) and Delaware Valley (Pennsylvania) playing at Bridgewater (Virginia). 

'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.