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Setting the Scene:  Flying high following their fourth straight Little Brass Bell victory, the Cardinals head south to Millikin seeking to extend their run of success against the Big Blue.

Series History: This is the 78th football meeting between the two institutions. North Central owns a slim 39-37-1 advantage in the all-time series and has won each of the last 18 encounters dating back to 2005.

The Cardinals traveled to Decatur Oct. 14 of last season and posted their highest point total ever against the Big Blue, winning in a 75-3 rout. North Central owned a 55-0 lead by halftime, forced five turnovers and gained 646 total yards, scoring at least 50 points against Millikin for the sixth straight time.

Luke Lehnen completed 10 of 14 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns, connecting with DeAngelo Hardy five times for 174 yards and three scores. Joe Sacco gained a game-high 117 rushing yards on just seven carries.

North Central scored on a 66-yard punt return by Nic Rummell and a 30-yard interception return by Ethan Groark. Danny Nuccio was the team’s leading tackler (6) while Jacob Vincent registered two quarterback sacks and Rahmareon Roby gained 17 yards on a fumble return.

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 26 AFCA regular-season polls and 35 of the last 38 D3football.com regular-season polls.

Scouting the Big Blue: Still searching for its first victory since the end of the 2022 campaign, Millikin is coming off a 49-14 setback at Carroll Saturday which extended its current losing streak to 14 games.

The Big Blue trailed, 28-0, before Aidan Lombardo’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Chord Miller. Lombardo capped a 98-yard drive with a six-yard run for the game’s final score.

Millikin has gained 167 of its 214 yards per game and scored four of its six offensive touchdowns through the air, as Lombardo has completed 44.9 percent of his passes for 518 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions. Don Starling has caught nine passes for a team-best 169 receiving yards while Matthew Salazar leads the ground game with 145 rushing yards.

The Big Blue’s defense has yielded at least 40 points in three of four outings. Linebacker Alex Araiza owns the team lead in tackles (23) and tackles for loss (5) and owns one of Millikin’s three interceptions.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central registered a 55-27 victory over Wheaton on the Thunder’s home field Saturday, retaining possession of the Little Brass Bell for the fourth straight season. The Cardinals claimed their 40th consecutive regular-season win and achieved their largest margin of victory over Wheaton since 1934.

Luke Lehnen was responsible for North Central’s first five touchdowns, running for three and throwing to Joe Sacco and Thomas Skokna for two more, as the Cardinals reached the end zone on eight of their 10 offensive possessions. Lehnen finished the game with a game-high 146 rushing yards on just 10 carries and completed 10 of 16 passes for 142 yards. Lehnen’s rushing yardage total was the second-highest of his career behind the 170 yards gained in North Central’s 2023 win at Wheaton.

Sacco, Sean Allen and Charles Coleman also rushed for touchdowns as North Central gained 291 of its 433 yards on the ground. Skokna was the team’s top receiver with five catches for 57 yards.

Brayden Garrigan and BJ Adamchik shared the team lead in tackles (8), and Garrigan also turned in his second interception of 2024. Rahmareon Roby and Jahmar Daniel each broke  up two passes as the Cardinals stalled Wheaton’s comeback effort with two stops on fourth down in the second half. Kyler Green blocked a punt to set North Central up with a short field for its first score of the second half.
 

Lehnen Honored by CCIW: Lehnen was recognized as the CCIW’s Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday, marking the sixth time in his career he has been so honored.

Lehnen joins kicker Nick Dace (2010-2013) and quarterback Broc Rutter (2016-2019) as the only North Central players to receive such a distinction in four straight seasons.

The Cardinals have claimed two of the conference’s weekly awards on offense this season. Sacco was honored by the CCIW following North Central’s season-opening victory at Aurora.

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 (208.3) 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 48 games of his career.

Lehnen has been responsible for 168 touchdowns as a Cardinal (128 passing, 40 rushing) and is within sight of the Division III record of 178 currently held by Central (Iowa) quarterback Blaine Hawkins (2017-21).

Individual NCAA Records: Lehnen established new Division III single-season records for passing efficiency (263.2), yards per pass attempt (14.7), yards per pass completion (20.0) and percentage of passes completed for touchdowns (20.7).

Joe Sacco established a new single-season record by averaging 9.77 yards per rushing attempt.

Division III Active Career Leaders: Lehnen is Division III’s active career leader in total offensive yards (12,914) and passing touchdowns (128).

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 third in receptions (210) and receiving yards (3,062). Joe Sacco sits 10th nationwide in rushing yards (3,067) and 14th in all-purpose yards (3,599), while Lehnen and Sacco sit seventh (37) and eighth (34), 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 36 straight CCIW games.

This Week in the CCIW: North Central sits alone atop the CCIW standings at 3-0 while Elmhurst, Illinois Wesleyan, North Park, WashU and Wheaton are a game behind at 2-1.

Elmhurst defensive back Chris Reaves and Illinois Wesleyan running back Jahari Scott were recognized as CCIW Student-Athletes of the Week on defense and special teams, respectively.

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

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