Gameday Matchup: The 107th edition of North Central College's rivalry with Wheaton College features the top two teams in NCAA Division III as they battle for the Little Brass Bell Trophy Saturday evening at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
Examining the Bell Series: Wheaton holds a 55-48-3 lead in the all-time series, though the Cardinals have won five straight meetings, including a 35-0 victory last season. It marked the first time Wheaton had been shut out in the rivalry since 1964. Since the introduction of the Little Brass Bell Trophy, the Thunder hold a 49-26-1 advantage.
North Central controlled the Little Brass Bell rivalry from start to finish in 2025, defeating Wheaton, 35-0, behind a dominant defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack. After both teams opened with three-and-outs, Bobby Medina's sack forced a Thunder punt before the Cardinals marched 49 yards and scored on Jordan Williams' five-yard touchdown run. North Central extended its lead to 14-0 in the second quarter when Garret Wilson connected with Sean Allen for a 14-yard touchdown before increasing the margin to 21-0 on Wilson's touchdown pass to Jack Rummell.
The Cardinals' defense continued to set the tone, forcing repeated three-and-outs while Rahmareon Roby, Medina and the defensive front pressured the Wheaton offense throughout the afternoon. North Central carried its 21-0 lead into halftime after driving deep into Thunder territory.
Wheaton's best scoring opportunity came in the third quarter, but linebacker Danny Nuccio intercepted a trick-play pass in the end zone to preserve the shutout. The Cardinals put the game away in the fourth quarter as Allen scored on runs of four and 15 yards.
North Central finished with six sacks and held Wheaton to minus-2 rushing yards, the sixth-lowest total allowed in program history. Wilson completed 14 of 15 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, while Donovan McNeal rushed for 113 yards and Allen totaled 81 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Rankings: North Central remains ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA Division III polls released by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association, while Wheaton moved up to No. 2 last week. Saturday's matchup marks the first Little Brass Bell game featuring teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 nationally.
Threads: North Central will unveil its new black uniforms Saturday, pairing black jerseys with black helmets and black pants to complete the blackout look:
Honing in on Wheaton: The Thunder enter the week undefeated at 5-0, earning wins over Mount Union (24-23), Albion (45-3), Millikin (82-10), Illinois Wesleyan (28-7) and North Park (33-6). Wheaton is averaging 42.4 points per game while allowing just 9.8 points per contest.
Wheaton averages 408.2 yards of total offense per game, including 263.6 passing yards and 144.6 rushing yards per contest. The Thunder also own a +4 turnover margin, forcing seven interceptions while committing three interceptions and losing four fumbles.
Mark Forcucci is the Thunder's starting quarterback. He has completed 103 of 158 passes (65.2%) for 1,220 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions while adding two rushing touchdowns.
The Thunder's top receiving threat is Seth Kortenhoeven, who leads the team with 26 receptions for 333 yards and four touchdowns. Caleb Titherington ranks second with 20 catches for 261 yards and one score, while Sam McFadden has added 13 receptions for 209 yards.
Leading the ground game is Matt Crider, who has rushed for 392 yards and six touchdowns on 84 carries. Owen Yorke has added 127 rushing yards and two scores, averaging 14.1 yards per carry.
Defensively, Zeke Harris leads Wheaton with 45 tackles, while Luke Heggie ranks second with 31 stops. The Thunder have totaled 31 tackles for loss and 14 sacks through five games. Maxton Leathers leads the team with 2.0 sacks, while Eli Reeves, Brett Dieter and David Harvin II each have two interceptions. Opponents are averaging just 222.6 yards of total offense, including 49 rushing yards per game and 1.9 yards per carry, while converting only 22.9% of third-down attempts.
On special teams, Peter Bertoni is a perfect 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts, while Seth Kortenhoeven averages 24.9 yards per punt return and has returned two punts for touchdowns.
Etched in History: Oct. 9, 1942 - North Central defeated Wheaton, 14-0, in the 26th meeting of the rivalry. The Cardinals struck early, needing less than six minutes to score what proved to be the decisive points when freshman Art Ontko caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Joe Sciuto and fought into the end zone. Weston Spencer, grandfather to current head coach Brad Spencer) added the extra point for a 7-0 lead. The remainder of the contest evolved into a defensive battle as both teams stifled opposing rushing attacks. North Central's defense, led by Don "Rev." McLean, who recovered four Wheaton fumbles, consistently shut down the Crusaders and allowed only one drive inside the Cardinal 30-yard line. Wes Spencer, Bill White, Dick Haumerson and John Perucca also played key defensive roles. Late in the fourth quarter, Haumerson intercepted a pass that set up a 14-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. Sciuto connected for his second scoring pass of the day, finding Jake Jacob for a five-yard touchdown. Spencer's conversion completed the 14-0 victory as the Cardinals secured their third straight win in the rivalry.
Behind the Streak: The Cardinals have won 53 straight conference games, the longest streak in league history. All 53 victories have come by double digits, including eight by 70 or more points. North Central has outscored its opponents 3,099-488 during the streak, an average margin of victory of 49.3 points.
Elsewhere in the CCIW: The other unbeaten team in CCIW play is Carroll, which hosts Illinois Wesleyan at 2 p.m. Saturday. Augustana welcomes Millikin to Rock Island, while Carthage hosts Elmhurst in a pair of 1 p.m. contests.
Looking around Division III: There is one other ranked matchup this week in Division III as No. 18 UW-La Crosse hosts No. 5 UW-Whitewater. That game is set for 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Field.
Little Brass Bell History: The Little Brass Bell was introduced to the North Central College versus Wheaton College football rivalry in 1946, but its history dates back much earlier. First appearing in New York in the early 1800s, the bell arrived in DuPage County in 1839 with a New England family that settled in the area.
The bell later became tied to the rivalry between Naperville and Wheaton over the location of the DuPage County Courthouse. After Wheaton won a successful campaign to become the county seat, Naperville refused to surrender court records. In response, Wheaton residents reportedly removed the records during an early morning raid, escaping before an alarm could be raised. The Little Brass Bell was among the items taken.
Years later, the bell came into the possession of a local farmer whose sons attended North Central and Wheaton after a coin toss determined their destinations. Following the farmer's death, the son attending North Central inherited the bell.
The bell eventually became a symbol of school pride, changing hands through pranks and raids between the two campuses before being hidden and later rediscovered in a Naperville attic in the early 1940s.
In 1946, the Little Brass Bell became the trophy awarded to the winner of the annual North Central-Wheaton football game.
