On a frigid Saturday afternoon at Benedetti-Wehrli stadium in Naperville, North Central College football pulled away from Bethel University for a 35-21 quarterfinal victory. With the win, the Cardinals advance to a sixth consecutive NCAA Division III semifinal.
A goal line stand sparks the Cardinals
Two of the highest scoring offenses in the country struggled to put up points in the first half. The Cardinals struck first on a one-yard run from sophomore Donovan McNeal following a 17 play drive. The Royals evened the score in the second quarter on a four-yard touchdown pass to Albert Rundell.
The game turned late in the first half. Donovan McNeal broke free down the sideline for a 33-yard touchdown run to put NCC back in front 14-7. Facing 4th & 6 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half, Royals quarterback Cooper Drews threw a pass to Rundell, who made the catch just in front of the eight-yard line before being driven back. The ball found its way into the arms of Jaegar Ash who rumbled past a stunned Cardinal defense into the end zone. Following a lengthy review, the officials ruled that Rundell’s momentum was stopped before the lateral, but he had gained enough yards to pick up the first down. With no timeouts and eight seconds left on the clock, Drews attempted a quarterback sneak, but was stopped short by linebacker Danny Nuccio, allowing North Central to maintain the 14-7 lead at halftime.
As they have all season, the Cardinals took control in the third quarter, stifling the Royals offense, while scoring on a pair of touchdown runs from Jordan Williams and Zeb Rashid.
Early in the fourth quarter, McNeal put the game on ice with his third touchdown run of the game, putting NCC up 35-7. Bethel was able to add a pair of late touchdowns, but it was North Central moving on to the semis following the 35-21 win. The Cardinals avenged the last home loss suffered suffered by the program, which came at the hands of the Royals in 2018.
Honoring the legacy of Jeff Thorne
The North Central community was rocked earlier in the week following the tragic loss of former head coach Jeff Thorne after a battle with stomach cancer. Thorne served as head coach from 2015-2021, winning the first National Championship in program history in 2019. A moment of silence was held before kickoff of Saturday’s game.
Although none of the current roster played under Thorne, he met with the team several times and left a lasting legacy on the program. Cardinal players used Coach Thorne’s mentality when facing the key moments during the victory over Bethel.
“We can’t change whether or not that play was called a touchdown,” linebacker Matt Janiak said. “We had to keep the defense ready to go and regroup. As Jeff Thorne always said, we need to keep swinging.”
Thorne served as a mentor to current North Central head coach, Brad Spencer, a former NCC wide receiver turned assistant coach. Earlier this week, Spencer was named the Division III Coach of the Year by the AFCA. At 13-0, the Cardinals are the last undefeated team remaining in Division III football. Spencer now holds a 57-1 career record and has advanced to the semifinal round in all four seasons.
The next game for North Central will be a semifinal matchup in Naperville against John Carroll on Saturday, December 20th with a 3:30 pm kickoff. The winning team will face the winner of UW-River Falls and Johns Hopkins in the Stagg Bowl on Sunday, January 4th.
