The weekend's only matchup between two top-10 ranked NCAA Division III football teams lived up to its advance billing at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium Saturday evening, as the North Central College Cardinals rolled to a big lead early and staved off a late comeback attempt to record a 35-25 victory over archrival Wheaton College and regain possession of the Little Brass Bell.
Ranked sixth in this week's D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Polls, North Central took back the traveling trophy between the two teams for the first time since 2013 after narrow losses the past two seasons and assumed sole possession of first place in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) standings.
"It's a huge rivalry, and you want to have that hardware," said North Central head coach Jeff Thorne. "Getting it back is really important for the program, but it really is just another step toward us fulfilling our goal of winning a conference championship. You can't do that without the bell. This step is done, now we've got to work toward the next step, which is the conference championship."
The Cardinals (6-0, 4-0 CCIW) drove 60 yards in 10 plays on the game's first possession, but came away empty after a failed fourth-down conversion attempt at the Wheaton 15-yard line. North Central's defense forced a punt just three plays later, however, and Pat Cravens' 17-yard return set the hosts up with a short field at the Thunder 44. Eight plays later, quarterback Broc Rutter lofted an eight-yard touchdown pass to fullback Justin Shaw, who made his first catch of the season.
North Central's defense came through on the next play from scrimmage to obtain even better field position, as Tyler Oakley forced a fumble which was recovered by Cravens. A 15-yard return set the Cardinals up just nine yards from the end zone. Three plays later, Rutter found Ryan Kuhl for a nine-yard score, doubling the lead to 14-0 with 4:20 still to play in the first period.
Wheaton, ranked fifth in the AFCA's poll and 11th by D3football.com this week, got on the board early in the second quarter when a 16-play, 74-yard drive ended with a 24-yard field goal by Stefan Knoerr. After the teams traded punts, the Cardinals returned the favor with a 29-yard field goal off the foot of Liam Crotty with 4:35 before halftime.
The Thunder punted with time winding down in the first half, and Cravens fielded the ball at the North Central 33. Cravens weaved his way through the Wheaton coverage and broke free for a 67-yard touchdown return with just four seconds left before the half. The return is the Cardinals' longest since Josh Mitchell's 80-yard return at Augustana College on Nov. 10, 2012.
"It ended up being a big play in the game," Cravens said. "There was a big seam up the middle, our guys made great blocks, and I just ran for it. It was really important. It gave us an edge going into halftime."
The Cardinals forced Wheaton to punt on its first two possessions of the third quarter but gave the Thunder two points on a special-teams miscue, as an errant snap on a punt attempt bounced out of the North Central end zone for a safety. The Thunder capitalized on the ensuing possession, as quarterback Andrew Bowers connected with wideout Phillip Nichols for a 45-yard completion before running back Sola Olateju scored on a two-yard run to narrow the gap to 24-12 with 7:52 left in the period. Wheaton made it a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter, as Bowers scrambled for 17 yards to the North Central five-yard line before handing off to running back Jaelin Goldsmith, who lobbed a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Luke Van Dyke. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the score at 24-18 with 13:28 to play.
North Central responded with a 65-yard drive, its longest of the game to that point, as Rutter passed or ran on 10 of 11 plays. After a sack and a penalty left the Cardinals facing second down-and-21 at the Wheaton 28, Rutter hit Kuhl for a 13-yard completion before scrambling to his right and firing for the end zone, where Dylan Warden made a leaping grab for a 15-yard touchdown with 8:41 left.
"Dylan Warden was unbelievable in the fourth quarter," Thorne said. "It was winning time, and Dylan stepped up. I'm just really happy for him. He's a team captain, he's led our team, and he made plays when we needed him."
The Thunder (6-1, 4-1 CCIW) delivered a much more efficient counterpunch, answering just four plays later on Bowers' 56-yard TD pass to Trey Hanley to cut the lead to 32-25. North Central's offense returned to the field and put together its longest drive of the night, a 12-play, 67-yard trek highlighted by a five-yard first-down run by Rutter, who leaped up off the turf after absorbing a hard hit, and Rutter's 21-yard first-down pass to Warden to put the Cardinals in the red zone. Crotty came on and split the uprights on a 25-yard field goal attempt with 2:01 to play, giving the home team a two-possession lead once again. Wheaton's final possession ended with a turnover on downs as Tyler Oakley broke up a pass on fourth down.
Rutter finished the game 23 of 39 passing for 238 yards, and by eluding the Wheaton pass rush and taking opportunities to gain yards on the ground, wound up as the Cardinals' top rusher with 32 yards on 10 carries. Alex Ulmer caught a team-high eight passes for 90 yards, while Warden made five grabs for 51 yards.
Brandon Kibby made a team-high nine tackles for the Cardinals, while Cravens finished with six. Billy Doudsfinished with four tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks (one shy of the North Central single-game record) and Jeremy Niklos made his team-leading fourth interception of the season.
Bowers finished the night 15 of 31 passing for 241 yards despite enduring five sacks. Hanley made six catches for 107 yards, while Olateju gained 58 yards on 15 rushing attepts and Eric Stevenson led the Wheaton defense with nine tackles.
The Cardinals travel to face Augustana College on Saturday, with kickoff at Lindberg Stadium scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The Vikings are 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the CCIW following a 43-35 loss to Millikin University.