Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Oct. 1, 2022 - In a highly-anticipated matchup viewed with interest nationwide, the North Central College football team fended off a second-half comeback and defeated arch rival Wheaton College, 33-20, in the Battle for the Little Brass Bell at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
The No. 1-ranked Cardinals (4-0, 3-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) scored the game's first 20 points and led throughout, but victory was not assured until late in the contest as the 11th-ranked Thunder fought back to make it a one-possession game near the end.
North Central jumped in front by scoring twice in a 76-second span in the first quarter. After Luke Lehnen fired a 38-yard pass downfield to DeAngelo Hardy, the quarterback handed off to Ethan Greenfield for a 19-yard touchdown run with 5:12 left in the opening period.
Zack Orr ended the ensuing Wheaton drive with an interception in Thunder territory. Just two plays later, Lehnen again went deep to Hardy, who outleaped two Wheaton defenders to make a catch, completing a 30-yard TD reception with 3:56 on the clock.
Another interception by Angelo Cusumano started the Cardinals' next scoring drive in the second quarter. After traveling 65 yards in nine plays, North Central turned to kicker Tanner Rains, who converted a 27-yard field goal to boost the lead to 17-0 with 3:35 left in the half.
In the final minute, facing fourth down in Wheaton territory, Lehnen dropped back for a quick-kick punt which glanced off a Thunder player and was recovered by the Cardinals' Joey Lombardi at the Wheaton 12-yard line.
North Central had just enough time to get one more field goal on the board just before the half. Jacob Paradee caught a pass and fell just short of getting out of bounds to stop the clock. The Cardinals rushed to get the field-goal unit on the field and Rains got the ball off just in time, bouncing it off the left upright and in as time expired. The hosts headed into the break with a 20-0 lead and a 327-79 advantage in total yards.
Wheaton (2-2, 2-1 CCIW) dominated most of the third-period play, limiting the Cardinals to 15 total yards, but was able to manage just one score, a five-yard TD pass from Will Bowers to Giovanni Weeks. A seven-yard scoring run by Weeks early in the fourth quarter narrowed the gap to 20-13 with 13:44 on the clock.
Hardy jumpstarted the Cardinals' offense with a 22-yard run on a reverse, and Lombardi made a 21-yard reception down the right sideline on the next play. Greenfield boosted the lead to 27-13 with 9:48 to play, hauling in a five-yard TD pass from Lehnen.
The Thunder closed the gap once again with an 11-play, 77-yard drive which culminated in Ben Bonga's 14-yard touchdown grab with 5:37 left left, leaving the score at 27-20. Hardy opened the drive with another reverse run, this time to the right, for 17 yards before Greenfield slammed the door on the contest by breaking loose for a 46-yard run. Greenfield collected the game's final score, his third of the game, on a three-yard run with 3:02 left.
The Cardinals (4-0, 3-0 CCIW) outgunned Wheaton, 477-342, including a 276-104 advantage in rushing yards. Greenfield finished with 189 yards on 24 rushing attempts, while Hardy caught eight passes for 157 yards. Lehnen finished the night 13 of 21 passing for 201 yards.
Sam Taviani and BJ Adamchik paced the North Central defense with 10 tackles each, while Brandon Greifelt, Dan Lester and Tyler Rich each registered quarterback sacks.
North Central travels to face Carroll University (3-1, 2-1) Saturday. Kickoff at Schneider Stadium is set for 1:00 p.m.
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