Secondary Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 31, 2026) – In a record-breaking day at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, the North Central College defense allowed just 61 total yards to Carthage College while the offense piled on 622 yards in a convincing 55-3 victory on Senior Day.
The 61 yards conceded by the Cardinals is the fewest a Cardinal team has ever allowed in a contest, breaking the previous record of 66, set in 2022 in the NCAA National Championship Second Round. The defensive unit, led by reigning Division III Defensive Coordinator of the Year and recent North Central Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Shane Dierking, allowed just 43 yards through the air, the 10th-fewest in program history, and 18 yards on the ground.
The offense utilized a new career high in passing from quarterback Garret Wilson, who spun the ball for 383 yards and three touchdowns, while sophomore wideout David Ballard III set a new career high with 171 receiving yards.
Prior to the contest, the Cardinals honored their 25 seniors: Jordan Williams, Ethan Groark, Jack Rummell, Kyler Green, Galashky Blaise, Kenny Rutherford, Charlie Lavery, Kaden Hartnett, Caleb Barclay, Brayden Garrigan, Phillip Carlton Jr., Sean Ryniec, Thomas Chiavetta, Carter Nair, Bobby Medina, Dawson Trebolo, Boyd Dose, Domenico Scalera, Charlie Egan, Cortez Jones, Tyson Cramer, Shamus Straub, Jorge Ortiz, Payton Allen and Graham Wight.
After deferring their option to choose to the second half, the Cardinal defense forced a three-and-out. After the Carthage (3-5, 2-4 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) punt, No. 4/5 North Central (7-1, 5-1) drove 68 yards, 54 of which came on a Ballard catch-and-run, and finished the drive with a 20-yard field goal by Ryniec, putting the Cardinals up 3-0 and improving Ryniec to a perfect 9-for-9 on the season in field goal attempts.
The Cardinal defense proceeded to force another three-and-out, giving the Cardinals the ball at their own 31. North Central drove into Carthage territory but was unable to convert on fourth down, giving the Firebirds the ball back at the Carthage 38. That would be one of just three drives (not including the drive that finished the contest) the Cardinals did not score on in the afternoon. They possessed the ball 12 times outside the game-ending drive.
A third consecutive three-and-out forced by the Cardinal 'D' led to a quick four-play, 72-yard drive that ended in a Wilson touchdown rush, his second of the season.
The ensuing Cardinal drive was as methodical as it gets. A 13-play, 54-yard drive was finished off by Zebulon Rashid from a yard out to extend North Central's lead to 17-0 early in the second quarter after Ryniec's successful point-after try.
The defense got in on the action with 9:26 to play in the second quarter. Aahil Khan broke into the Firebird backfield and blew up a would-be screen play, intercepting quarterback Leo Chiapetta's pass and returning to the North Central 10. Khan's herculean one-handed interception quickly turned into a touchdown as Wilson hit Duke Guenther (six receptions, 94 yards) out of the backfield for a 10-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch.
Guenther caught a second touchdown on the ensuing Cardinal drive to make it 31-0 after another perfect PAT by Ryniec.
During the second quarter, the Cardinals scored 21 points in just 4:45. Head coach Brad Spencer's offensive unit added a few more tallies before halftime, as Ryniec knocked through his second field goal of the day to extend the Cardinal advantage to 34-0 in the waning seconds of the first half.
The Cardinals did not allow a first down to Carthage through the first 30 minutes of game time. The Firebirds mustered just 24 yards in the first half, as the Cardinals held them to a net of zero passing yards after the first two periods.
The first Firebird first down did not come until the fourth quarter.
Senior Jordan Williams got in on the scoring action, finishing off a 7-play, 72-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run, set up by Wilson's 44-yard bomb to Ballard a few plays earlier.
The lone Carthage points came at the 8:44 mark of the third quarter: a 24-yard field goal that was set up by a Firebird interception.
Blaise also celebrated senior day with a score: he carried a short pass from Wilson 29 yards to the house to put North Central up 48-3 after Scalera put the finishing touches on the drive with a successful point-after attempt.
Late in the third, Kellen Davis entered the game at quarterback and got his second rushing touchdown in as many weeks, extending the Cardinal lead to 55-3 with a seven-yard scamper followed by another pure extra point by Scalera.
Medina added a sack in the contest to grow his career total to 23, passing Tyler Rich and Anthony Imbordino for third in program history in sacks.
The defense collected 10 tackles for loss spread across 12 different players and five sacks spread across six different players. Matt Janiak led the tackling effort today with eight, while Carlton provided five and Medina led the defensive line with four.
Rummell collected three passes for 55 yards, while freshman Matt Orban hauled in a 54-yard catch. The offense averaged nearly eight yards per play while the defense held Carthage to just 1.27 yards per play, and 0.6 yards per rush.
The Cardinals return to action next week. They travel South to Decatur, Illinois to take on the Big Blue of Millikin University next Saturday at 12 p.m.
Postgame Press Conference
