Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
WAUKESHA, Wis. (Oct. 8, 2022) - An overpowering effort punctuated by game-breaking plays in all three phases pushed the North Central College football team past Carroll University in a 73-0 shutout at Schneider Stadium Saturday.
The No. 1-ranked Cardinals (5-0, 4-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) topped the 70-point mark for the second time in three weeks and posted their first shutout since a 77-0 victory over North Park University Sept. 28, 2019.
North Central hit the ground running as soon as play began. Terrence Hill fielded the game's opening kickoff and weaved his way through the middle of the Pioneers' coverage for a 92-yard touchdown. It is the first career kickoff return touchdown for Hill, who needs 56 more yards to move into the Cardinals' career top 10.
After forcing a punt, the Cardinals needed only four plays to double their advantage, as Ethan Greenfield scampered left for a 52-yard scoring run with 9:17 still to play in the opening period. North Central began its third drive of the day at the Pioneer 45-yard line following a 16-yard return by Jacob Paradee. Two plays later, Paradee caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Luke Lehnen to open the gap to 21-0.
The visitors' fourth and final scoring drive of the first quarter came at the end of an eight-play, 86-yard trek and culminated in Lehnen's 23-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to Hill. Lehnen delivered a 50-yard completion to DeAngelo Hardy before finding the junior again for a six-yard TD pass on the next play. The Cardinals led, 35-0, with 10:29 left in the first half.
Carroll's next drive resulted in the first turnover of the day, as Angelo Cusumano intercepted a Josh Raby pass at the North Central 35 and returned it 43 yards to the Pioneers' 22. Three plays later, Hill scored his third touchdown of the afternoon on a 15-yard run. Hill now ranks sixth in the Cardinals' career history in touchdowns (36) and seventh in points scored (216).
A short Carroll punt set the guests up near midfield and a 37-yard downfield completion, once again from Lehnen to Hardy, set the stage for a 12-yard scoring run by Greenfield. The Pioneers' final first-half possession ended with a turnover on downs at their own 48. Taking over with just 41 seconds left, Lehnen drove the Cardinals into the red zone with a 16-yard completion to Paradee.
After taking time out with seven seconds on the clock, Lehnen dropped back and found Peter Braithwaite in the deep right corner for an 18-yard scoring pass, Lehnen's fourth of the game. The Cardinals headed into halftime up, 56-0, having scored each time they possessed the ball.
North Central turned to its backups for most of the second half, and the first possession of the third period resulted in a 39-yard field goal by kicker Tanner Rains. Joe Sacco burst through the line for a six-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, and the final score of the day came on Darius Byrd's seven-yard run with 9:13 to play.
The Pioneers (3-2, 2-2 CCIW) made one final bid to put points on the board, advancing deep into North Central territory before Adam Green's interception at the Cardinals' one-yard line ended the hosts' final scoring opportunity with 4:41 left.
The Cardinals finished with 573 total yards, 363 of which came from the running game. North Central ran 57 total plays for an average of 10.1 yards per play. Lehnen completed 10 of 12 passes for 207 yards while also gaining 43 yards on five rushing attempts.
Greenfield gained 137 yards on just 10 carries, while Sacco ran eight times for 82 and Hardy made three catches for 93 yards. Hardy moves up to fifth in the Cardinals' history in receiving yards (2,186).
North Central limited the Pioneers to 164 total yards as Antwain Walker and BJ Adamchik led the way with eight and seven tackles, respectively. Dan Lester made three tackles for loss to boost his team-leading total this season to 10.5 and Brandon Greifelt finished with two tackles for loss including a quarterback sack.
The Cardinals return to Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium Saturday to host Millikin University. The Big Blue (2-3, 1-3 CCIW) are coming off a 70-0 loss to Augustana College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Click HERE for the full 2022 schedule.
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