After an overpowering first half, North Central College football is heading to the Division III National Championship after a 41-21 victory over John Carroll in the semifinals. Scoring the first 31 points of the game, the Cardinals withstood a late charge from the Blue Streak to punch their tickets to a sixth consecutive Stagg Bowl.
Garrett Wilson leads the aerial attack for the Cardinals
Taking the ball first, the North Central offense used the run and pass game to march down the field for a 10-play, 87-yard drive to open the scoring with a five-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Wilson to Grant McAtee to make it 7-0 in favor of the Cardinals.
After a John Carroll punt, North Central quickly added to the lead with a 71-yard touchdown strike from Wilson to Jack Rummell, the longest play of the season for the NCC offense.
Defense does its part to aide North Central
On the next Blue Streak possession, CCIW Defensive Player of the Year J.P. Sullivan batted down a pass on fourth and two, giving the Cardinals the ball near midfield. Three passes later Wilson and Rummell connected once again, this time from 31-yards out to put North Central in front 21-0 midway through the second quarter. Rummell finished the day with a career-high 176 yards on six receptions and two scores.
With less than thirty seconds remaining in the half, John Carroll drove into Cardinal territory looking to get on the board before the halftime break. Quarterback Nick Semptimphelter looked to avoid pressure from Sullivan, who was in the process of bringing him down for a sack. Semptimphelter then threw the ball directly to lineman Eli Renick, who returned the interception 60-yards the other way for a touchdown. The Cardinals took a 28-0 advantage into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Cardinals made it a 31-0 game after a John Carroll three-and-out and a 28-yard field goal from Fred Mitchell Award winning kicker, Aidan Ellison.
The Blue Streak got on the board on the first play of their next possession when Semptimphelter found Tyren Montgomery behind the defense for a 73-yard touchdown to make it a 31-7 game.
Heading back to the Stagg Bowl for a sixth straight season
The Cardinals used the ground game to chew up clock on their ensuing drive with big carries from 100-yard rusher Donovan McNeal and freshman Zeb Rashid. North Central got the score right back as Garrett Wilson kept the ball himself for a 15-yard touchdown scamper down the sidelines to make it a 38-7 game. Wilson threw for a career-best 324 yards on 18-23 passes and four touchdowns in total.
The Blue Streak were able to add a pair of fourth quarter touchdown passes from Semptimphelter, sandwiched between a 34-yard Aidan Ellison field goal. A final onside kick attempt from the Streak went out of bounds, and North Central improved to 14-0 on the season after a 41-21 victory over John Carroll.
The Cardinals will face UW-River Falls in the Stagg Bowl on January 4th at 7:00 pm on ESPN. The Falcons outlasted Johns Hopkins in a wild 48-41 victory in the other semifinal. It will be the first ever matchup between the two programs, as North Central looks to win a second straight national championship and a fourth in the past six years. Brad Spencer now holds an incredible 58-1 record as the NCC head coach. Spencer has led the Cardinals to the Stagg Bowl in each of his first four seasons at the helm.
