Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Oct. 15, 2022 - Needing little time to seize control and ruthlessly maintaining it throughout the contest, the North Central College football team ran into the record books Saturday, routing College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) rival Millikin University, 65-0, at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
The top-ranked Cardinals (6-0, 5-0 CCIW) rolled up 776 yards, breaking the previous North Central record of 726 set against North Park University last season. Also broken Saturday was the Cardinals' single-game record for rushing yards (591), also set against North Park, as North Central gained 597 yards on the ground. Both totals are the highest achieved by any NCAA Division III team this season.
The hosts immediately put their stamp on the afternoon as Ethan Greenfield ran 64 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Terrence Hill ran 16 yards to the end zone on the next play, giving North Central a 7-0 advantage after just 42 seconds had elapsed.
Greenfield set Hill up for a score on the Cardinals' second drive as well, running five yards on fourth down to set up a first-and-goal situation at the six-yard line. Hill scored for the second time on the next play to double the North Central lead. The home team's first passing score of the day came with 1:43 left in the opening period, as Jacob Paradee caught his first collegiate touchdown pass, an 18-yarder from Luke Lehnen.
After a Zack Orr interception ended the next Millikin drive, Lehnen struck again scrambling 20 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the campaign. Greenfield ran for a 23-yard touchdown, his 12th rushing score of the season, with 4:58 left in the half, and the final score before halftime came from Paradee, who hauled in a 21-yard scoring strike from Lehnen with 1:35 on the clock. North Central went into halftime with a 41-0 lead and a 419-82 advantage in total yards.
Lehnen found Paradee for a third time early in the third quarter, this time from three yards, giving Paradee three scores for the day. The sophomore was one touchdown catch shy of matching the North Central single-game record.
Joe Sacco ran 24 yards to the end zone with 4:10 left in the third period to boost the lead to 55-0, and Jahron Williams preserved the shutout with an interception at the North Central three-yard line on the next Big Blue possession.
Tanner Rains kicked a 21-yard field goal with 12:36 to play, and Darius Byrd capped the scoring with a six-yard TD run with 2:18 left.
Greenfield finished with 174 rushing yards on just 15 carries, while Sacco achieved his first collegiate 100-yard game with 125 yards on 11 attempts and Byrd notched a career high with 95 yards. Paradee was North Central's leading receiver with 95 yards on six catches and Lehnen finished the day 11 of 19 passing for 179 yards.
Angelo Cusumano and Dan Lester were the Cardinals' leading tacklers with five stops each and Lester also led the way with a career-best three quarterback sacks and Nic Rummelll and Jahmar Daniel each broke up two passes.
North Central travels to face No. 24-ranked Washington University in St. Louis Saturday. Kickoff at Francis Olympic Park is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2022 schedule.
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