Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Live Video/Audio/Stats

Setting the Scene:  Off and running in conference play following a shutout victory at Carthage, the Cardinals take the field at home for the first time in 2024 against the unbeaten Bears.

Series History: This is the 11th football meeting between the two institutions and the sixth since WashU joined the CCIW as an associate member for football. North Central has won nine of the 10 previous encounters, including each of the last six.

The Cardinals posted a 49-3 victory over the Bears Oct. 21 of last season in Naperville. Despite possessing the ball for just 25 minutes of the 60-minute game, North Central scored on every single offensive drive and averaged nearly 11 yards per play.

Charles Coleman scored touchdowns on a 19-yard pass from Luke Lehnen and a 41-yard run, while Lehnen also ran for a score and threw additional touchdown passes to Joey Lombardi and Jacob Paradee. Sean Allen and DeAngelo Hardy also scored on running plays.

Julian Bell recorded a team-best 10 tackles while Zack Orr registered three quarterback sacks.

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 24 AFCA regular-season polls and 33 of the last 36 D3football.com regular-season polls.

Scouting the Bears: WashU began CCIW play at home against Carroll Saturday, taking advantage of a series of Pioneer miscues to score in short-field situations and posting a 35-7 victory.

The Bears recovered a mishandled punt snap 14 yards from the end zone late in the first quarter and scored on tight end Grant Hajicek’s touchdown pass to John Benke, then recovered a fumble in Carroll territory and scored on a one-yard run by Kenneth Hamilton go up, 21-0, just before halftime.

WashU cornerback Brett Kersemeier returned an interception 50 yards for a score in the third period as the Pioneers struggled to move the ball through the air, enduring a stretch of 17 sraight incompletions. Carroll’s longest drive of the game traveled 38 yards.

The Bears are averaging 208 passing yards and 187 rushing yards per game thus far. Quarterback Clark Stephens has completed 69.1 percent of his passes with no interceptions as senior receiver Collin Goldberg has caught 20 passes for 215 yards (more than half of the team’s total). Hamilton has gained a team-best 151 rushing yards while defensive lineman Jack Middleton leads the Bears with 3.5 tackles for loss.

Offensive Line Receives National Honors: North Central’s starting offensive line, consisting of left tackle Jeske Maples, left guard Nick Fehrle, center Jerred Durian, right guard Sam Pryor and right tackle Ryan Kennelly was recognized as part of the D3football.com Team of the Week for its efforts at Carthage.

The Cardinals converted 15 first downs passing and 15 first downs rushing while gaining at least 50 yards on nine of 13 possessions. North Central did not have an offensive penalty in the game.

D3football.com’s weekly honor roll as included the North Central offensive line four times in the last six seasons.

Adamchik Among Leading Tacklers: Adamchik’s 10 tackles thus far this season have pushed his career total to 206, making him the 12th player in the program’s history with at least 200 total stops.

Adamchik is 25 tackles shy of achieving a spot in the Cardinals’ all-time top 10.
 

CCIW Preseason Poll: North Central was picked as the favorite to win its 18th CCIW Championship, receiving eight 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.

Lehnen Chases All-Time Efficiency Record: Lehnen is the national all-divisions active leader in passing efficiency (209.0) 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.

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 46 collegiate games.

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 (12,364), passing touchdowns (124) and total touchdowns responsible for (161).

The NCAA Division III career record for total offense is 14,568 yards, set by Mount Union’s Kevin Burke from 2011-2014, while Central’s Blaine Hawkins (2017-21) holds the record for touchdowns responsible for (178). 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 ninth nationwide in rushing yards (3,000) and 15th in all-purpose yards (3,528), while Lehnen and Sacco sit seventh (37) and eighth (33), 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 34 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: All five games in the CCIW resulted in wide scoring margins Saturday. Illinois Wesleyan posted a 55-7 win at Elmhurst, while Wheaton defeated Augustana, 42-3, and North Park blanked Millikin, 44-0.

Illinois Wesleyan quarterback Dermot Smyth was named the CCIW’s Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week, while North Park linebacker Jaydin Miller and kicker/punter Carson Blatchford were so recognized on defense and special teams, respectively.

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

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.