Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Box Score
WAUKESHA, Wis. (Oct. 2, 2021) - Continuing to operate at near-peak efficiency in all phases, the North Central College football team dispatched Carroll University, 62-7, to stay unbeaten in Saturday's College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) clash at Schneider Stadium.
The top-ranked Cardinals (4-0, 3-0 CCIW) totaled a season-high 625 yards of offense, averaging just more than 10 yards per play and denied the homestanding Pioneers a single scoring opportunity after the game's first possession. Carroll opened the contest with an eight-play, 75-yard drive which ended with Michael Johnson's five-yard touchdown pass to J.R. Muth which gave the hosts a 7-0 edge with 11:05 on the first-quarter clock.
North Central got a special-teams boost from Justin Lynch, who returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards to the Pioneer 30-yard line. Ethan Greenfield ran around left end for a 12-yard scoring run three plays later, tying the game less than two minutes later.
The visitors took the lead for good on their next possession afrter forcing a Carroll punt. Quarterback Luke Lehnen closed a 77-yard, eight-play possession with a 39-yard touchdown run with under a minute left in the first period, then delivered a 15-yard TD pass to Andrew Kamienski with 12:07 to go in the second quarter after breaking free for a 22-yard run. In the final 2:39 of the first half, Lehnen hit tight end Matt Robinson for a six-yard touchdown pass and ran three yards for another score to give the Cardinals a 34-7 advantage at the break.
Sparked by Lehnen's 38-yard completion to DeAngelo Hardy, North Central opened the second-half scoring with a three-yard TD run by Greenfield, and Terrence Hill, Joe Sacco and Darius Byrd each ran for touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals gained 319 yards on the ground and 306 through the air while limiting Carroll to 221 total yards on the afternoon.
Lehnen completed 18 of 22 passes for 239 yards while also gaining a season-high 107 rushing yards on nine carries. He is the first Cardinal quarterback with at least 100 rushing yards and 200 passing yards in a game since Spencer Stanek '13 gained 106 rushing yards and 330 passing yards in a 41-24 win over the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Sept. 14, 2013.
Greenfield ran for 92 yards on 10 attempts, while Kamienski caught five passes for 53 yards and Hardy made four grabs for 102 yards. Ben Wong recorded a team-best seven tackles while Dan Gilroy, Sam Taviani and Storm Simmons each finished with six.
Johnson completed 15 of 25 passes for 139 yards for the Pioneers (2-2, 1-2), connecting with Muth four times for 63 yards. Jonathan Rau made a game-high 10 tackles.
The Cardinals travel to Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Saturday to take on the Carthage College Red Men (3-1, 3-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 noon. Click HERE for live coverage options.
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