For this week’s Red Zone play of the week, despite the Cardinals putting up 56 points against Wabash College, the honor goes to a win-sealing play by sophomore linebacker Danny Nuccio.
Looking to force the ball downfield and spur an unlikely comeback, Wabash quarterback Liam Thompson’s pass is intercepted by Nuccio who then returned it 58 yards for the longest interception return by a Cardinal since 2014. It was Nuccio’s first career interception in his first career appearance, having not seen the field his freshman year.
The Cardinals held Wabash to 257 yards of total offense, forcing the one turnover in addition to a fumble recovered by the Little Giants and three sacks. The home team also went just six out of seventeen on third down and were shutout in the first, third and fourth quarters.
Nuccio is one of several linebackers fighting for playing time following the graduation of both Ben Wong and Storm Simmons. Fellow sophomore linebacker BJ Adamchik was honored as the CCIW football Defensive Student Athlete of the Week for his 12 tackles (including 11 solo tackles) against the Little Giants. No other Cardinals player had more than eight.
The Cardinals defense will look to maintain their strong start against Carthage College next, who were shut out by Albion College in their opening game. In last year’s contest between the Cardinals and Firebirds, the North Central defense allowed just 218 total yards and picked off Carthage quarterback Bryce Lowe twice on great plays by Nic Rummell and Jake Beesley. No individual Carthage receiver caught more than three passes, and the running game mustered only 88 total yards.
