Complete Game Notes (PDF)

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Setting the Scene: Staging titanic battles in their first two postseason encounters, the Cardinals and Purple Raiders ready for Round Three at Mount Union Stadium with a trip to the national title game hanging in the balance.

Series History: This is the third football meeting between the two institutions.

Mount Union won the first meeting, 41-40, in the 2013 national semifinals in a contest that was played in a driving snowstorm and featured seven lead changes.

The teams met again at Mount Union Stadium in the second round of the 2019 postseason. The Cardinals used a run of 21 straight points in the second half to pull in front for good and prevail, 59-52.

North Central gained a then-school record 699 yards of total offense, including a program-record 522 passing yards by quarterback Broc Rutter. Andrew Kamienski caught 12 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns, while DeAngelo Hardy made eight grabs for 186 yards and Jake Beesley ended the contest with an interception in the end zone.

National Rankings: North Central has been ranked No. 1 by both D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) for the final seven weeks of the regular season.

Mount Union was ranked No. 4 in both polls.

Scouting the Purple Raiders: Mount Union went into overtime in its quarterfinal game against Muhlenberg Saturday, advancing with a narrow 35-29 victory after trailing by as many as 12 points.

The game-winning score was a 14-yard  touchdown pass from Braxton Plunk to Derrick Harvey after Muhlenberg's initial possession in overtime resulted in a missed field goal.

Plunk completed 38 of 56 passes for 465 yards in the victory. For the season, Plunk's 4,284 passing yards rank him second nationally, while receiver Wayne Ruby is in the top 10 in receptions (101) and receiving yards (1,414). 
The Raiders rank fourth nationally in total offense (532.7 yards per game) and sixth in total defense (224.5 yards allowed per game).

Nose tackle Duke Hill has made a team-best 17.5 tackles for loss, while safety Malik Britt has intercepted six passes.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central cruised to a 55-6 victory over RPI in its quarterfinal contest, advancing to the national semifinals for the third time.

North Central owned possession for more than 40 minutes and owned a 516-151 advantage in total yards. It is the Cardinals' ninth output of at least 50 points this season, and their 319 rushing yards gave them a program-record 3,726 for the campaign.

Ethan Greenfield ran for 143 yards on 20 rushing attempts and scored two touchdowns, reaching the end zone multiple times for the fourth straight game. Terrence Hill scored twice as well, doing so for the second consecutive week, while Luke Lehnen now has 30 touchdown passes this season after scoring tosses to Kamienski, Hardy and Blake Williams.

De'Angelo Roberson scored the Cardinals' first defensive touchdown, returning an interception 34 yards for the final score of the game. It is Roberson's team-leading fourth interception this season.

Jake Beesley established a new North Central single-season record, breaking up two passes to give him 16 breakups on the season.

NCAA Career Rankings: Kamienski's North Central-record reception total (328) ranks him eighth 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 4,898 career receiving yards, Kamienski ranks fourth 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 (58) while ranking third in points scored (348), Beesley sits second in passes defended (43) and pass breakups (35), and Ben Wong ranks ninth all-time in tackles (231).

Greenfield now also ranks first all-time in rushing touchdowns (60) and rushing yards (4,398) and sits  second in points scored (390) and all-purpose yards (5,129). Greenfield is just two points shy of matching kicker Nick Dace (392 points from 2010-2013) for the Cardinals' career scoring record.

Hardy and Williams rank eighth (1,639) and 14th (1,113) in career receiving yards, respectively, while Hardy also sits ninth in touchdown receptions (17) and 13th in receptions (92).

Terrence Hill is ninth all-time in total touchdowns (29) and 10th in rushing touchdowns (24). Lehnen, in his first season of collegiate play, already ranks sixth in North Central history in passing touchdowns and passing yards (3,001) and eighth in completions (170).

'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.