Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Live Video/Audio/Stats

Setting the Scene:  The Cardinals begin their chase for a fourth straight conference title  as they go for a 10th consecutive win on the Firebirds’ home field.

Series History: This is the 69th football meeting between the two institutions. North Central owns a 38-27-3 all-time record against the Firebirds and has won the last 18 straight meetings dating back to 2005.

The Cardinals recorded their largest margin of victory in the series Sept. 16 of last season, routing Carthage, 70-0, at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. North Central owned a 49-0 lead by halftime and rolled up 647 yards of total offense while permitting the Firebirds only 102 yards and six first downs.

Luke Lehnen completed 10 of 12 passes for 263 yards and four scores, as DeAngelo Hardy (five catches, 102 yards) scored twice and Joey Lombardi (3-110) and Jack Rummell (2-51) scored once. Joe Sacco ran for 131 yards and one TD on 11 carries while Lehnen, Jordan Chisum, Sean Allen and Jordan Williams also reached the end zone.

Zack Orr and Kyler Green each intercepted passes and Josh Stevens returned a fumbled kickoff attempt 15 yards for a touchdown.

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 23 AFCA regular-season polls and 32 of the last 35 D3football.com regular-season polls.

Scouting the Firebirds: Carthage opened its season Sept. 7 at then-14th-ranked Saint John’s (Minnesota), losing in a 49-0 shutout as the Johnnies scored 42 points before halftime.

Quarterback Bryce Lowe completed 14 of 26 passes for 121 yards with three interceptions, while Bryce Frank and Mark Hunter led the running game with 41 and 29 yards, respectively. Defensive back Amarie Hill and linebacker Evn Mutterer were the Firebirds’ top tacklers with eight stops each.

Carthage is under a new head coach this season in former Endicott College (Massachusetts) defensive coordinator Matt Popino.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central was the only CCIW team in action last week, traveling to face then-No. 13-ranked Aurora at Spartan Athletic Park. The Cardinals scored the game’s first 31 points and held the upper hand throughout a 48-21 victory, winning their opening game for an 11th straight season.
After being forced to punt on the game’s opening drive, North Central scored on its next seven straight possessions. The Cardinals owned a 41-7 lead before Aurora strung together a pair of touchdown drives. North Central’s defense forced a turnover on downs on the Spartans’ final drive, then ran out the final 5:47 to put the game on ice.

Joe Sacco scored the Cardinals’ first three touchdowns of the contest and finished with 146 rushing yards on 19 carries. After completing just two of his first seven pass attempts, Luke Lehnen went 19 of 24 the rest of the way to finish the game 21 of 31 passing for 241 yards. Lehnen threw touchdown passes to Trey Madsen, Jacob Paradee and Jack Rummell.

The North Central defense held Aurora scoreless in its first five possessions and limited the Spartans to less than 10 yards on five offensive drives. BJ Adamchik made a team-high eight tackles, including two tackles for loss, while John Sullivan made seven stops and Zack Orr, Danny Nuccio and Kenny Rutherford each finished with six. Brayden Garrigan’s 41-yard interception return set up Madsen’s touchdown catch in the second period.

The Cardinals have scored at least 40 points 24 times in 31 games since the start of the 2022 season.

Paradee Punt Returns Ignite Offense: Jacob Paradee recorded punt returns of 53 and 50 yards, respectively, in the first quarter of Saturday’s game to set up a pair of North Central scoring drives.

Paradee is the first Cardinal to post two punt returns of at least 50 yards in a game since Joe Antonacci had returns of 64 and 55 yards in a 47-13 win at Elmhurst on Oct. 30, 2010.

Paradee now ranks tenth in the program’s history in punt return yards (316) and fourth in yards per punt return (14.36).

Sacco Honored by CCIW: Posting conference-leading totals for rushing yards and touchdowns in the Cardinals’ opener, Sacco was honored as the CCIW’s first Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week for 2024 on Monday.

Carroll’s Damon Loker and Noah Streveler received the CCIW’s weekly awards on defense and special teams, respectively.
 

Madsen Among D-III Active Leaders: Trey Madsen caught a team-high six passes for 63 yards in his Cardinal debut Saturday after transferring from Aurora, from which he departed as the Spartans’ all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches.

Madsen currently ranks second among all active Division III players in touchdowns (48) while sitting third in receptions (206) and receiving yards (3,019).

Adamchik Among Leading Tacklers: Adamchik’s eight tackles in the Cardinals’ opener pushed his career total to 204, making him the 12th player in the program’s history with at least 200 total stops.

Adamchik is 27 tackles shy of achieving a spot in the Cardinals’ all-time top 10.

Preseason All-Americans: North Central had a program-record seven players make this year’s D3football.com Preseason All-America Teams, surpassing the previous record of five set in 2023.

First Team selections are Sacco, Madsen, Jeske Maples, Martin Egbo and Adamchik, while Lehnen and Sam Pryor are Second Team picks.

The Cardinals’ seven selections are the most of any team.

CCIW Preseason Poll: North Central was picked as the favorite to win its 18th CCIW Championship, receiving 8 of 10 first place votes in the annual preseason coaches’ poll.

Wheaton received the remaining two first-place votes and sits second in the poll, followed by WashU, Augustana, Carroll, Illinois Wesleyan, North Park, Carthage, Elmhurst and Millikin.

Division III National Leaders: North Central established new NCAA Division III national records for yards gained per play (9.5), yards per pass attempt (13.59), passing efficiency (249.0) and points scored (879).

The Cardinals also led all Division III teams in scoring offense (58.6 points per game) and total offense (567.5 yards per game) and own a division-best 43-2 record since the start of the 2021 season.

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). Lehnen also holds the current record for consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass, having done so in all 45 collegiate games.

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

NCAA Active Career Leaders: Lehnen is Division III’s active career leader in total offensive yards (12,012), passing touchdowns (122) and total touchdowns responsible for (158).

Lehnen is the third player in Division III history to accumulate at least 4,000 passing yards (9,641) and 2,000 rushing yards (2,371).

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 season and has won 33 straight CCIW games.

Gagliardi Trophy: Lehnen was named the 31st recipient of the Gagliardi Trophy, the premier individual award in Division III football, in 2023.

Lehnen is the third junior to win the trophy and the third Cardinal in the last four seasons to claim the award. Quarterback Broc Rutter won the 2019 Gagliardi Trophy, while running back Ethan Greenfield was the 2022 winner.

The University of Southern California is the only other college football program in the nation to win three such awards in a four-season span, claiming the Heisman Trophy in 2002 (Carson Palmer), 2004 (Matt Leinart) and 2005 (Reggie Bush). 

This Week in the CCIW: Conference play begins throughout the CCIW this week as Millikin visits North Park, Carroll travels to WashU, Augustana plays at Wheaton and Illinois Wesleyan goes to Elmhurst while the Cardinals travel to face Carthage.

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.