NCC Football vs. UWO
Steve Woltmann

Football Week 7 Preview: Augustana

Game Notes

Live Video/Audio/Stats

Setting the Scene: Following its third shutout of the season—a 75-0 rout of North Park University—the North Central College football team (6-0, 5-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) hosts the Augustana College Vikings (5-1, 4-1 CCIW) Saturday afternoon for its “Refuse to Lose: Cardinals for a Cure” game, which will also honor former head coach Jeff Thorne.

Series History:  Saturday marks the 95th meeting between North Central College and Augustana College, with the Vikings holding a 55-38-1 advantage in the all-time series. North Central has had all of the recent success, winning 18 straight contests over Augustana, including a 49-10 win last season.

North Central dominated Augustana College 49-10 Saturday at Lindberg Stadium, led by quarterback Luke Lehnen’s historic outing. Lehnen accounted for all seven touchdowns, setting a single-game program record and claiming the NCAA Division III career mark for touchdowns responsible for with 184.

The Cardinals broke the game open with six unanswered scoring drives and a season-best 391 rushing yards. Lehnen threw for 177 yards and five scores, adding 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Joe Sacco ran for 121 yards. North Central’s defense forced three turnovers and stopped two second-half drives on fourth down.

Augustana briefly tied the game 7-7 on a 55-yard touchdown pass. The Cardinals finished with 571 total yards on 56 plays and executed their first successful onside kick since 2021.

NCC Football vs. North Park
NCC Football vs. North Park
North Central quarterback avoids the Carthage defender while protecting the football in the open field.

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 1 nationally in the latest NCAA Division III Top 25 polls released by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

The defending national champion Cardinals earned 24 of 27 first-place votes in the D3football.com poll and swept all 52 first-place votes in the AFCA rankings. North Central has now held the top spot in 41 consecutive AFCA polls and 49 of the last 52 D3football.com polls.

Scouting the Vikings: Augustana enters Saturday’s matchup in a tie for second place in the CCIW with a 5-1, 4-1 record. The Vikings average 30.85 points per game while allowing 24.83. Offensively, they generate 409.2 yards per contest, including 277.67 through the air.

Quarterback Jimmy Makuh has thrown for 1,624 yards and 14 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He’s also added 171 rushing yards on 41 carries. Running back Ben Ludlum leads the ground game with 410 yards and three touchdowns. Sean Schlanser has been Makuh’s top target, recording 38 catches for 478 yards and two scores.

On defense, Toby Splitt leads Augustana with 67 tackles, followed closely by Dino Hunt with 34. Shiloh  Jones, TJ Klein and Ryan Gustafsson have each tallied 2.5 sacks this season.

1980 North Central College football action photo of a running back
1980 vs North Park - The North Central Cardinals dominated North Park 38-12, improving to 4-3. Led by QB Bob Dobry and tight end Greg Flood, the offense exploded for 498 yards and four first-half touchdowns, including two Dobry-to-Flood connections. Freshman Phil Christopher and Ed Klocek added rushing scores. The defense, bolstered by standout performances from Bill Hammond, Ron O’Neal, and Don Zych, stifled the Vikings with multiple sacks and interceptions. Zych’s two picks set up second-half scores, including Dobry’s third TD pass to Flood and a rushing TD of his own. Despite a kickoff return TD by North Park, the Cardinals sealed the win. Alan Douglas led the rushing attack with 100 yards, while Flood had 134 yards and three TDs.

This Week in the CCIW: North Central has won the last four CCIW titles, going 9-0 in conference play each season. The Cardinals are the league’s only unbeaten team entering Saturday, with Augustana, WashU, and Wheaton at 3-1.

This week’s CCIW schedule features all 1pm kickoffs with WashU visiting Wheaton, Elmhurst visiting Carroll, Millikin visiting Carthage, North Park visiting Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana visiting North Central.

David Ballard III

National Recognition: North Central College wide receiver David Ballard III has been named to the D3football.com Team of the Week as the special teams selection following his blocked punt against North Park University in the Cardinals' 75-0 win on Saturday.

After a Bobby Medina strip sack on 3rd & 12, the Vikings were forced to punt with 1:25 on the clock in the second quarter. Ballard III came untouched off the right side to block a Viking punt, which went out of bounds at the North Park 3-yard line. On the very next play, running back Sean Allen scored a three-yard rushing touchdown as the Cardinals took a 34-0 lead into halftime.

Ballard III also caught a 14-yard pass from quarterback Demir Ashiru to pick up a first down on a drive that led to a Jack Rummell receiving touchdown. He joins kicker Aidan Ellison (week 4), Medina (week 5) and Thomas Skokna (week 6) as Cardinals to earn a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week.

Refuse to Lose: Cardinals for a Cure: Former football coach Jeff Thorne, a 2025 inductee into the North Central Athletics Hall of Fame, won the program's first NCAA Division III National Championship in 2019. Thorne is currently battling stomach cancer and will serve as an honorary captain before kickoff on Saturday.

Jeff Thorne raising 2019 NCAA Trophy in team huddle

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