Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
MONTGOMERY, Ill. (Sept. 14, 2024) - Prevailing in a season opening contest for the 11th consecutive season, the North Central College football team put its stamp on Saturday's season opener with urgency, opening with 31 unanswered points as the top-ranked Cardinals posted a 48-21 victory over 13th-ranked Aurora University at Spartan Athletic Park.
After being forced to punt on its first possession, North Central scored on its next seven drives to pull away for its 37th straight regular-season victory.
The Cardinals opened the scoring with a drive that began at the Aurora 30-yard line following a 53-yard punt return by
Jacob Paradee. After seeing a touchdown pass called back due to a penalty, quarterback
Luke Lehnen darted 25 yards on a draw to the right side on third down-and-18 to secure a first down. The drive stalled and North Central brought on kicker
Sean Ryniec for a 34-yard field goal to give the visitors a 3-0 edge with 11:27 on the first-quarter clock.
Following another Aurora punt, the Cardinals extended their lead to 10-0 with a nine-play, 55-yard drive which culminated in a 22-yard touchdown run by
Joe Sacco with 4:53 left in the period. Paradee came through with a 50-yard return of the Spartans' third punt of the night to set North Central up at the Aurora 26. Two plays later, Sacco spun out of an attempted tackle and ran to his left for a 28-yard scoring run to boost the lead to 17-0 late in the opening period.
The Cardinals forced a turnover on downs at their own 32-yard line on the next drive and moved down the field with a swing pass to Sacco and two more to
Charles Coleman before Sacco scored for a third time, this time from three yards out, to make it a 24-0 count with 4:54 left in the first half. North Central scored again just 33 seconds later as safety
Brayden Garrigan returned an interception 41 yards to the Spartans' seven-yard line. On the ensuing play, Lehnen lofted a pass to the left corner of the end zone and into the waiting hands of
Trey Madsen to extend the lead to 31-0. Madsen was in his first game with the Cardinals after transferring from Aurora as the Spartans' all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches.
Aurora (1-1) saw its next drive extended after a Cardinal pass interference penalty on third down-and-goal, then notched its first touchdown of the game on Zackery Russell's one-yard plunge. North Central closed the half with another field goal by Ryniec, whose career-long 41-yard attempt split the uprights as time expired.
The Cardinals struck first in the second half as Lehnen found Paradee uncovered in the middle of the field for a 35-yard touchdown pass. The hosts were able to cut into the lead with a touchdown pass from Tyler Adkins to Ty Pruett and another scoring run by Russell to head to the fourth quarter with a 41-21 deficit.
The North Central defense rallied and shutdown the Spartans' next drive, forcing a quick punt. The Cardinals drove 57 yards in nine plays and scored on Lehnen's third touchdown pass of the night, this time to
Jack Rummell from 31 yards away, for a 48-21 lead with 9:27 to play. Aurora advanced to the Cardinals' 17-yard line on their next drive. Facing fourth down-and-three, the Spartans saw their conversion attempt thwarted by a pass breakup by Garrigan with 5:47 to play. North Central took possession and ran the rest of the clock out, securing a season-opening victory for the 11th consecutive season.
The Cardinals owned a 463-372 advantage in total yards, gaining 241 through the air and 222 on the ground. After completing two of his first seven pass attempts, Lehnen went 19 of 24 the rest of the way to finish the night 21 of 31. Sacco gained a game-high 146 yards, the third-highest single-game total of his career, on 19 carries while Madsen made six catches for 63 yards.
BJ Adamchik led North Central's defense with eight tackles while
John Sullivan totaled seven and
Zack Orr,
Kenny Rutherford and
Danny Nuccio each finished with six.
Ethan Groark broke up two passes, including a third-down play that preceded the guests' first scoring drive.
Adkins completed 22 of 40 passes for 289 yards, connecting with Pruett four times for 122, while also leading the Spartans with 55 rushing yards on eight carries. Andrew Nordland led the Aurora defense with 10 tackles.
The Cardinals open College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play Saturday, traveling to face Carthage College (0-1). Kickoff at Art Keller Field is set for 1:00 p.m.
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