After beginning the day by paying tribute to its seniors, the North Central College football team was led to victory by a historic effort by one of them on Saturday, as a series of single-game school records were shattered in a 43-20 victory over Carthage College at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
Running back Austin Breunig, who entered the game as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) leader in rushing yards and all-purpose yards, ran circles around the Red Men's defense all afternoon long, becoming the first player in the program's history to score five touchdowns in a single game. He ran for 264 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries while also catching three passes for 86 yards and two scores. Breunig established single-game records for rushing yards and all-purpose yards (350).
"I think everything was working well," Breunig said. "The offensive line opened up huge holes for me. I was running through the line untouched on almost every play. Everybody just did a great job of blocking, and I'm grateful to have a quarterback like Broc (Rutter) to throw me the ball. I've got a lot of great guys around me."
With the win, the Cardinals (8-1, 6-1 CCIW) move within a win of the 13th CCIW Championship in the program's history and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship, which would be North Central's 10th postseason appearance.
Breunig hauled in a 41-yard touchdown pass from Rutter on the game's opening possession, then broke loose for a season-long 78-yard scoring run later in the first period. He tacked on a two-yard TD run on the first play of the second period, then caught a 36-yard touchdown pass with 9:49 left in the first half.
"The guy's amazing," North Central head coach Jeff Thorne said of Breunig. "He works at it. It matters to him. He spends a lot of time in preparation, watching film with the coaches. He's got the type of game-breaking speed that, once he gets into the open, he's gone."
Liam Crotty capped off the first-half scoring by converting a 20-yard field goal attempt with 5:04 on the second-quarter clock, boosting the hosts' lead to 30-0. North Central rolled up 390 yards of total offense in the first half while allowing only 140.
"It all starts with our offensive line," Thorne said. "What they did today, they've been doing consistently. Coach (Greg) Whalen's done an amazing job with them, and he and Coach (Brad) Spencer put together a great game plan. We've got a great quarterback who makes the kinds of throws that make the defense cover the whole field, but it all starts with our offensive line, and I couldn't be more proud of what they're doing."
After ending North Central's first possession of the second half with an interception, Carthage (6-3, 4-3) scored for the first time on Jamel Davis' six-yard touchdown run with 6:51 left in the third period. The Red Men picked off a pass early in the fourth quarter as well, but the play was nullified by a penalty. Breunig put the Cardinals in the end zone for the fifth time two plays later, running 13 yards for a score with 12:06 to play. North Central's final score was set up by Tommy Sora's interception, which set it up at the Carthage 37-yard line. Backup quarterback Alec Fidan covered that distance three plays later on an option keeper for his third tochdown run of the year.
For the third straight week, the Cardinals established season-high totals for rushing yards (314) and total yards (581). Rutter completed 19 of 33 passes for 267 yards, as Michael Sfikas (79 yards) and Cory Hartema (58 yards) each caught five passes. DJ Warkenthien led the North Central defense with 10 tackles, while Matt Sutherland also intercepted a pass.
North Central travels to face Elmhurst College (2-7, 2-5) on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams. Kickoff at Laghorst Field is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.