Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Live Video/Audio/Stats

Setting the Scene:  The Cardinals and Purple Raiders do battle for the third straight postseason, this time with the national title trophy on the line.

Series History: This is the fourth football meeting between the institutions and the first not to take place at Mount Union. The Cardinals have won two of the three previous encounters.

The teams competed in the 2013 national semifinal in a persistent snowstorm. North Central scored with 1:38 to play on Matt Randolph's one-yard touchdown run before the Raiders responded with a 26-yard scoring pass from Kevin Burke to Mike Collichio with just 1:07 left to secure Mount Union's 41-40 victory.

The next meeting came in the 2019 second round and resulted in a 59-52 North Central victory as the teams combined for 1,397 offensive yards. Broc Rutter threw a six-yard TD pass to Andrew Kamienski and ran for a 10-yard score in a span of 2:42 in the third and fourth quarters to give the Cardinals the lead for good.

Rutter completed 22 of 36 passes for a school-record 522 yards and five TDs, four of which went to Kamienski.

The Cardinals returned to Alliance for the 2021 semifinals, scoring 26 unanswered points in a 26-13 win. North Central limited Mount Union to 276 total yards while Ethan Greenfield gained 190 rushing yards on 31 carries.

National Rankings: North Central was ranked No. 1 by D3football. com and the first American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) at the close of the regular season.

Mount Union was ranked No. 2 in both polls.  

Scouting the Purple Raiders: Mount Union defeated Salsibury (51-0), Utica (45-7) and Delaware Valley (22-6) beforeSaturday's 34-31 semifinal win over Wartburg.

Trailing, 31-28, with three minutes left, the Raiders drove 69 yards in seven plays to score on Tyler Echeverry's three-yard run with just 31 seconds to play.

Quarterback Braxton Plunk completed 43 of 56 passes for 396 yards and a pair of touchdowns to receiver Wayne Ruby, Jr.

Plunk is the Division III national leader in passing yards (4,317) this season while ranking second in touchdown passes (48) and Ruby is the national leader in points scored (174).

Mount Union owns the nation's best totals in total defense (192.4 yards allowed per game), rushing defense (44.6 ypg) and first downs (366).

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central improved to 3-1 all- time in national semifinals Satur- day with a 49-14 victory over Mary Hardin-Baylor in the Cardinals' first home game in the semifinal round.

After heading into halftime with a 21-14 advantage, the Cardinals held UMHB scoreless in the second half while tallying 28 straight points. After attempting 17 passes in the first half, quarterback Luke Lehnen passed only three times after the break, completing all three for 66 yards and touchdowns to DeAngelo Hardy and Nic Rummell.

Lehnen finished the game with a game-high 139 rushing yards on 13 attempts while completing 13 of 20 passes for 174 yards and a career- high tying four touchdown passes. Lehnen's other two scoring strikes went to tight ends Alec Wolff and Matt Quinn, giving Quinn the first reception of his collegiate career.

BJ Adamchik led the North Central defense with 10 tackles while Sam Taviani finished with six tackles, four tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks and an interception. Antwain Walker also intercepted a pass and broke up five others.

Gagliardi Trophy Finalists Announced: Ethan Greenfield was named one of four finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy last week. The Gagliardi Trophy is the premier individual award in NCAA Division III football and will be presented this year for the 29th time.

Quarterback Broc Rutter won North Central's first Gagliardi Trophy in 2019. The Cardinals have had a semifinalist each of the past five seasons.

North Central in the NCAA Playoffs: The Cardinals own a 27-12 overall record in the Division III Football Championship, including victories in their last 13 first-round games.

NorthCentral won its first national title in 2019 and finished as the national runner-up in 2021. The Cardinals first qualified for the national quarterfinals in 2010 and the semifinals in 2013.

The Cardinals in the Stagg Bowl: North Central first advanced to the national championship in 2019, defeating Wisconsin-Whitewater, 41-14, in Shenandoah, Texas.

In 2021, the Cardinals lost, 57-24, to Mary Hardin-Baylor at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

NCAA All-Time Active Leaders: Greenfield is the second-leading active rusher in all of college football and ranks sixth all-time in Division III history with a North Central-record 6,560 yards.

Greenfield also ranks second among active players in career all-purpose yards (7,528) and points scored (558). He ranks fifth in Division III history in scoring and 14th in all-purpose yards.

National Statistical Rankings: Lehnen sits fourth nationally in passing efficiency (189.6), sixth in yards per pass attempt (9.65) and fifth in passing touchdowns (35).

Greenfield is the Division III national leader in rushing yards (1,878) for the third straight season and also leads the country in rushing touchdowns (25) while ranking second in scoring (162) and third in all-purpose yards (2,050).

Hardy currently sits second nationwide in receiving touchdowns (18), 10th in total touchdowns (19) and 12th in receiving yards (1,091), while Rains sits 10th in scoring (119) and Dan Lester ranks seventh in fumble recoveries (3).

As a team, North Central ranks first nationally in scoring offense (54.1 points per game), scoring defense (5.6 ppg), total offense (553.4 yards per game), rushing offense (364.1 ypg) and red-zone defense (45.0%).

The Cardinals rank third nationally in interceptions (25), third-down defense (23.7%) third-down percentage (57.0%), and turnover margin (+1.86 per game) and fourth in rushing defense (53.0 ypg) and total defense (203.2 ypg).

North Central Career Rankings: Terrence Hill is sixth all-time in total touchdowns (43), fifth in rushing touchdowns (35) and ninth in rushing yards (2,180). Lehnen ranks fifth in North Central history in passing touchdowns (68), passing yards (5,752) and completions (375).

Dan Gilroy now ranks third on the Cardinals' all-time list for career quarterback sacks (23.5) while Rich ranks fifth (21). Gilroy also ranks fifth all-time in tackles for loss (42.5).