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Setting the Scene:  The Cardinals’ most extensive and historic rivalry is renewed this week, as Wheaton visits Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium for the highly-anticipated Battle for the Little Brass Bell.

Series History: This is the 103rd football meeting between the institutions. Wheaton has won 55 previous encounters, while the Cardinals have won 44 and the teams have tied three times.

North Central visited Wheaton Sept. 18 of last season, allowing an early score before shutting the Thunder down the rest of the way in a 20-7 win. DeAngelo Hardy caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Luke Lehnen  immediately after Wheaton's lone score, and Ethan Greenfield added two touchdown runs in the second half.

Lehnen completed 13 of 20 passes for 345 yards while also leading North Central in rushing with 66 yards on 21 carries. Andrew Kamienski made seven catches for 191 yards while Hardy made four grabs for 102 yards.

Dakota Creemens, Braden Lindmark and Ben Wong shared the Cardinals' lead in tackles with seven while Jake Beesley broke up five passes.

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 1 by D3football.com and the first American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Wheaton is ranked No. 11 by D3football.com and No. 13 by the AFCA.

Scouting the Thunder: Wheaton traveled to Augustana last week, staving off a late comeback attempt to defeat the Vikings, 38-28.

Owning a 35-14 advantage heading into the fourth period, Wheaton saw the Vikings narrow the gap to 35-28 midway through the final quarter before kicker Caleb Mary put the contest on ice with a 22-yard field goal with 1:48 to play. The kick came at the end of a 12-play, 70-yard drive which ate up nearly six minutes.

The Thunder gained 327 of its 511 yards on the ground while contending with an Augustana offense which gained 365 of its 396 yards through the air.

Wheaton running back Giovanni Weeks shouldered the bulk of the load on offense, running for 268 yards on 37 carries. Quarterback Will Bowers completed 11 of 20 passes for 184 yards and ran for two TDs as well.

Safety Sam Bell intercepted a pass and forced a fumble for Wheaton, while cornerback Riley Schwartz picked off two passes.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central hosted Elmhurst in its home season opener Saturday and treated its fans to a 76-6 conquest of the Bluejays, turning in record-high performances on both sides of the ball.

The Cardinals allowed Elmhurst to gain just 81 total yards, setting a new single-game school record, while tying another record with six interceptions.

Nic Rummell returned an interception 35 yards to the end zone for North Central’s first defensive touchdown of 2022.
The offense, meanwhile, posted the program’s fourth-highest single-game rushing yardage total (475) and its ninth-highest total yardage mark (666).

Ethan Greenfield ran for 137 yards and scored two touchdowns on just 11 carries, while DeAngelo Hardy caught two touchdown passes. Terrence Hill scored touchdowns rushing and receiving, while Joe Sacco, Luke Lehnen, Jake Johnson and Jordan Chisum reached the end zone as well.

Dan Lester recorded a career-high four tackles for loss while Antwain Walker, Brandon Greifelt, Jahron Williams, Nic Laird and Jahmar Daniel also contributed to the Cardinals’ record-high interception total.

Around the CCIW: North Central, Wheaton and WashU share the lead in the CCIW with identical 2-0 records in conference play.

WashU travels to North Park this week while Carthage visits Elmhurst, Millikin travels to Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana plays at Carroll.

This Day in Cardinal Football History:  2005 vs. Wheaton - The Cardinals snapped a seven-year losing streak to Wheaton on Family Weekend, rallying to defeat the Thunder, 35-26.

Trailing, 20-7, at halftime, North Central began its comeback effort with Kam Kniss' 10-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Didier. Kniss connected with Tyke Spencer for a 51-yard scoring pass to move the hosts in front with 9:48 left before Mario Smith put the Cardinals firmly in control with a 57-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Kniss completed the scoring with a 5-yard TD pass to Kory Williams with 1:35 to play. Kniss finished with 24 completions on 35 attempts for 279 yards, hitting Spencer six times for 106 yards, while Lenny Radtke recorded a game-high 19 tackles and five different Cardinal defenders intercepted passes.

'Red Zone' Returns in 2022: 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 14th 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.