The time has come for the number one team in Division III football North Central College to take on rival Wheaton College in the Battle for the Little Brass Bell. The Thunder lead the all-time series 55-46-3, but the Cardinals are winners of the last three matchups, which includes a pair of victories at McCully Stadium. NCC enters the game a perfect 3-0 on the season while Wheaton stands at 2-1.
Cardinal offense is business as usual
North Central wins the toss and head coach Brad Spencer is eager to put the ball in the hands of 2023 Gagliardi Trophy winner, Luke Lehnen. The receiver rolls out and finds Jack Rummell for a pickup of 29 yards to put NCC in enemy territory.
Then Lehnen shows off the speed and athleticism by keeping the ball himself, running 35 yards for the first touchdown of the game.
The Cards have the ball again and Lehnen passes to Jacob Paradee by the hashes for another first down.
Lehnen uses arm this time as running back Joe Sacco is wide open on the wheel route and he’s in for the touchdown. 14-0 Cardinals after the 14-yard scoring play
Wheaton stays close with a pair of touchdown drives
Wheaton College finds the zone on the next possession with quarterback Xaviere Jones passing to Ben Bonga for the touchdown. That cuts the Thunder deficit in half to 14-7.
Lehnen and Cards have an answer on the option play. The lane looks to be closed off, but he puts a move on two defenders and hits the gas for a 53-yard touchdown and it’s 21-7 NCC.
The Thunder is hanging tough behind All-American running back Giovanni Weeks who scores the short touchdown to make it a 21-14 deficit.
Luke Lehnen continues to shine in senior season
Back comes NCC and Lehnen who sets up the throw and drops a dime into the hands of Thomas Skokna for another Cardinal touchdown. Four possessions and four trips to paydirt as North Central takes a 28-14 lead into halftime.
The Cardinals start the second in great field position after a blocked punt from Jacob Lynch and Lehnen knows what to do, he just takes it in for six on the draw up the middle. Lehnen scores 5 total touchdowns in the game, with three of them on the ground.
The defense finally brings its own Thunder. Jones is passing on fourth down looking for Breck Peacock but it’s deflected by Kenny Rutherford and intercepted by Brayden Garrigan. What a stop of the Cardinal’s defense.
North Central College reclaims the Little Brass Bell
New possession and a new running back, but the result is the same for the relentless Cardinals offense. This time it’s sophomore Sean Allen running to the outside and diving for the pilon for the touchdown. NCC is running away up 41-14 after scoring on the first eight possessions of the game.
The depth is on display with another offensive weapon finding the endzone for the Cardinals as Charles Coleman runs it in for six. North Central College keeps the bell in Naperville following a 55-27 victory over Wheaton. The Cardinals have scored over 50 points in back to back games against the Thunder for the first time in over a century. North Central has now won forty consecutive regular season games, dating back to 2019.
North Central football travels to Millikin next week, before returning home for a homecoming matchup against North Park. The broadcast produced by NCTV17 will kick off at 6:00pm and can be seen live on northcentralcardinals.com.