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Setting the Scene:  After hitting the road for four of its first five games, the Cardinals return to Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium for Homecoming Weekend to face one of Division III’s most prolific passing attacks this season.

Series History: This is the 64th football meeting between the two institutions. North Central owns a 51-10-2 advantage in the all-time series and has won each of the last 27 encounters dating back to 1996. The Cardinals’ winning streak against the Vikings is their longest against any CCIW opponent.

North Central traveled to Chicago Oct. 28 of last season and shut out the Vikings for the fifth time in the last six seasons, claiming a 56-0 victory. The Cardinals rolled up 396 yards in the first half and carried a 35-0 advantage into halftime, finishing with 631 total yards. North Central allowed the Vikings to gain just 128 yards. North Park advanced into the Cardinals’ territory only twice, seeing both drives end with interceptions.

Luke Lehnen completed 12 of 17 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns while running for 84 yards and three more scores. Joe Sacco scored twice and gained 137 yards on nine rushing attempts, while Joey Lombardi gained a team-high 93 yards on four receptions.

Martin Egbo totaled six tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks, which match the third-highest single-game totals in program history.

The Cardinals have won their last six games against North Park by a total combined score of 344-6.

National Rankings: North Central was ranked No. 1 nationally in the most recent NCAA Division III Top 25 Polls by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

The Cardinals have been ranked No. 1 in the last 27 AFCA regular-season polls and 36 of the last 39 D3football.com regular-season polls.

Scouting the Vikings: hree of North Park’s four victories have come down to the final play this season, including Saturday’s 30-26 victory over Carroll which featured six lead changes.

Trailing, 26-24, late in the fourth quarter, the Vikings traveled 75 yards in 14 plays and scored on Quadrell Hill’s three-yard touchdown run with 1:04 to play. The PIoneers completed a downfield pass and attempted a series of laterals on the game’s final play, but the ball was fumbled and safety Ben Foster made the recovery to seal the win.

North Park ranks first in the CCIW and fifth nationally in passing offense (321.4 yards per game) this season. Quarterback Matt Eck has completed 66.8 percent of his passes for 1,546 yards and 15 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Wide receiver Jereme Ombogo ranks second in the conference in receptions (33), receiving yards (552) and touchdown catches (7) while Wesley McCloud has made 31 grabs for 455 yards and four scores. The Vikings’ passing game accounts for the bulk of their 418.3 offensive yards per contest.

North Park’s defense allows 24.4 points per game and ranks second in the CCIW to North Central in total defense (259.6 ypg). Linebacker Jaydin Miller leads the Vikings in tackles (35), tackles for loss (6) and quarterback sacks (3) and recorded a key interception in the fourth quarter against Carroll which helped earn him the most recent CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week award.

North Park opened the season with a 42-41 victory over Ripon, halting a two-point conversion attempt with 14 seconds to play. Eck scored on a one-yard run to seal the Vikings’ 30-27 double-overtime win over Augustana Oct. 5.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central won its 41st straight regular-season contest Saturday at Millikin, racing to a 56-0 halftime lead before resting most of its starters for the second half of a 70-14 victory. It was the Cardinals’ 19th straight win and seventh straight output of at least 50 points against the Big Blue.

Lehnen ran for two touchdowns while also throwing 48- and 54-yard scoring passes to Thomas Skokna, a 45-yarder to Sean Allen and a 43-yarder to Jack Rummell before halftime. North Central also got an eight-yard touchdown run from Charles Coleman and a 28-yard interception return TD from Rahmareon Roby as it gained nearly 400 offensive yards in the first two quarters.

Calvin Lavery threw scoring passes to Grant McAtee and Alexander Pratt in the second half as the Cardinals tied a single-game program record with six touchdowns through the air. North Central gained a season-high 350 passing yards and topped the 600-yard mark in total offense (617) for the second time in 2024.

Lehnen completed 11 of 14 passes for 274 yards, finding Skokna three times for 116. Donovan McNeal was the team’s top rusher with 82 yards on 11 carries. Theo Millas, Bobby Medina, John Sullivan and Angelo Cusumano shared the team lead in tackles (4), Martin Egbo and Drew Harp recovered fumbles, and Matt Janiak also picked off a pass.

North Central is the only Division III team to score at least 48 points and have at least one interception in every game in 2024.
 

Adamchik Among Leading Tacklers: Adamchik’s 23 tackles thus far this season have pushed his career total to 219, making him the 12th player in the program’s history with at least 200 total stops.

Adamchik is 12 tackles shy of achieving a spot in the Cardinals’ all-time top 10.

Lehnen Chases All-Time National Records: Lehnen is the national all-divisions active leader in passing efficiency (210.3) and is on pace to establish a new collegiate career record.

The current collegiate career record (202.6) is held by Mount Union’s D’Angelo Fulford (202.6). The Purple Raiders have the top five all-time career leaders in passing efficiency.

Lehnen has already established a new all-divisions record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass, having done so in all 49 games of his career.

Lehnen has been responsible for 174 touchdowns as a Cardinal (132 passing, 42 rushing) and is within sight of the Division III record of 178 currently held by Central (Iowa) quarterback Blaine Hawkins (2017-21).

Division III Active Career Leaders: Lehnen is Division III’s active career leader in total offensive yards (13,217) and passing touchdowns (132).

The NCAA Division III career record for total offense is 14,568 yards, set by Mount Union’s Kevin Burke from 2011-2014, while Mount Union’s Braxton Plunk (2019-23) owns the record for touchdown passes (158).

Trey Madsen ranks second among active Division III players in touchdown catches (48) while ranking fourth in receptions (212) and fifth in receiving yards (3,084). Joe Sacco sits 10th nationwide in rushing yards (3,140) and 17th in all-purpose yards (3,702), while Lehnen and Sacco sit sixth (42) and ninth (35), respectively, in rushing touchdowns.

CCIW Single-Season Records: The Cardinals established new CCIW records in 2023 for points scored in conference play (576) as well as points per game (64.0), touchdowns (83), total offensive yards (5,504) and yards per game (611.6).

North Central has gone 9-0 in conference play the last three seasons and has won 37 straight CCIW games.

This Week in the CCIW: North Central sits alone atop the CCIW standings at 4-0 while North Park, WashU and Wheaton are a game behind at 3-1.

WashU running back Fred Ware and Carroll kicker Matthew Swink are the CCIW Student-Athletes of the Week on offense and special teams, respectively.

This week’s games feature Augustana at Carroll, Millikin at Illinois Wesleyan, WashU at Elmhurst and Wheaton at Carthage.
 

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