Football

Football Second-Round Postseason Preview

NCC Football

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Live Video/Audio/Stats

Setting the Scene: Its long-awaited postseason opener delayed by a week, the Cardinals prepare to pull back the curtain for the second round against a La Crosse program coming off its first playoff win since 2006.

Series History: This is the third football meeting between the two institutions. The teams played a home-and-home series in 2012 and 2013, with each team winning on the other’s home field.

The Eagles posted a 21-17 victory in Naperville Sept. 1, 2012, while North Central claimed a 41-24 win at La Crosse Sept. 14, 2013.

The Cardinals achieved a total of 674 offensive yards in their 2013 win, a new school record at the time which currently ranks sixth on the program's all-time list.

National Rankings: This is the third football meeting between the two institutions. The teams played a home-and-home series in 2012 and 2013, with each team winning on the other’s home field.

The Eagles posted a 21-17 victory in Naperville Sept. 1, 2012, while North Central claimed a 41-24 win at La Crosse Sept. 14, 2013.

The Cardinals achieved a total of 674 offensive yards in their 2013 win, a new school record at the time which currently ranks sixth on the program's all-time list.

Scouting the Eagles: UW-La Crosse traveled to Albion for its first-round game Saturday and defeated the Britons, 58-23, to qualify for this week’s game.

The Eagles scored touchdowns on five of six first-half possessions and owned a 34-3 lead at halftime. La Crosse owned a nearly 18-minute advantage in time of possession and rolled up 546 total yards.

Quarterback Jakob Parks completed 24 of 30 passes for 285 yards and five touchdowns, three of which were caught by Cameron Sorenson. Running back Joey Stutzman gained 136 yards on 19 attempts and linebacker Ryan Daines contributed a team-high six tackles, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

The Eagles have averaged 37.5 points per game this season, gaining more than 200 yards per game rushing as well as passing, but have been vulnerable to the pass on defense giving up nearly 260 yards through the air per contest.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central advanced to the second round without a game last week, as first-round opponent Carnegie Mellon was forced to withdraw due to an outbreak of COVID-19.

The Cardinals extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 21 games Nov. 13, celebrating Senior Day with an 84-6 conquest of North Park to clinch sole possession of the CCIW championship.
The title is the Cardinals’ 12th in the past 15 years. North Central is in the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
The Cardinals scored on nine straight first-half drives Saturday to put the contest out of reach and allowed North Park only four first downs in the game. Ethan Greenfield and Terrence Hill each ran for three touchdowns while DeAngelo Hardy scored on a run and a reception.

Greenfield finished with 186 rushing yards on just nine carries, becoming the Cardinals’ all-time leading rusher with 4,027 yards.

North Central finished with 726 total offensive yards, setting a new CCIW single-game record, and established a new program record with 591 rushing yards. The Cardinals’ rushing yardage total is the highest by any Division III team in a game this season.

North Central in the NCAA Playoffs:  The Cardinals own a 20-11 overall record in the Division III Football Championship, including victories in their last 12 first-round games.

North Central reached the national quarterfinals in 2010 and the national semifinals in 2013 before winning the national title in 2019.

The winner of this week’s game will take on either the State University of New York at Cortland or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York) in the national quarterfinals next week.

Around the Nation: The other six games  this weekend feature   Muhlenberg (Pennsylvania) at Delaware Valley (Pennsylvania), Johns Hopkins (Maryland) at Mount Union (Ohio), Wheaton at Central (Iowa), Birmingham-Southern at Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas), Linfield (Oregon) at Saint John's (Minnesota) and DePauw (Indiana) at Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Gagliardi Trophy Semifinalists Named: Andrew Kamienski was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, the premier individual award in NCAA Division III football.

Finalists for this year's award will be announced Dec. 9. The Cardinals' Broc Rutter won the 2019 Gagliardi Trophy.
 

 

Braden Lindmark
Braden Lindmark
Zach Fortier

Academic All-District: North Central's Jake Beesley and Ben Wong were voted to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Distric Team last week. It was the third such award for Wong and the second for Beesley.

Both are eligible for the CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams, which will be announced in December. Wong is a two-time honoree and Beesley was so recognized last year.

National Statistical Rankings: At the end of the regular season, the Cardinals ranked first among all NCAA Division III programs in scoring offense (59.7 points per game), second in total offense (589.5 yards per game), and 12th in scoring defense (10.7 ppg) and total defense (225.8 ypg).

Luke Lehnen is the Division III national leader in yards per pass attempt (12.0) while ranking second in yards per completion (18.1 and third in passing efficiency (200.5).

Greenfield ranks fourth nationally in scoring (13.3 points per game) while Kamienski ranks 10th in receiving yards (112.8 yards per game) and Jake Beesley ranks 13th in passes defended (1.5 per game).


 

NCAA Career Rankings: Kamienski's North Central-record reception total (321) ranks him seventh in NCAA Division III history. The career record of 463 is held by Michael Zweifel, who played for Wisconsin-La Crosse and Dubuque from 2007-2011.

With 4,769 career receiving yards, Kamienski ranks seventh all-time. The record of 6,108 yards was set by Scott Pingel of Westminster (Missouri) from 1996-99.

North Central Career Rankings:  Kamienski is the program's all-time leader in career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns (56) while ranking third in points scored (342), Beesley sits second in passes defended (41) and pass breakups (33), and Ben Wong ranks 10th all-time in tackles (223).

Greenfield now also ranks first all-time in rushing touchdowns (56), second in points scored (366) and fourth in all-purpose yards (4,753).

Hardy and Williams rank 11th (1,485) and 15th (1,079) in career receiving yards, respectively, while Dan Gilroy sits 12th all-time quarterback sacks (13) and Hill is currently 10th in total touchdowns (25) and 11th in rushing touchdowns (20).

'Red Zone' Returns in 2021: 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 13th 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.