Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Sep. 19: North Central College Cardinals (1-0) at University of Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneers (2-0)

Kickoff: 1 p.m., Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.
Video: portal.stretchinternet.com/uwplatt/
Radio: 89.1-FM WONC
Live Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/uwplatt/
Game Updates: www.twitter.com/NCC_Athletics
Series History: 2-0, North Central

Setting the Scene: Opening a new season with a new head coach for the first time in 13 seasons, the Cardinals look to begin 2015 on a positive note against a new opponent.

Series History: North Central has won both previous meetings against the Pioneers, each of which occurred at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

The Cardinals topped UWP, 28-7, on Sept. 20 of last season, rolling up just over 300 yards rushing and scoring three touchdowns in the first 9:08 of the contest.

Kolton Kuczynski tallied the game's first touchdown by hauling in an eight-yard pass from Dylan Warden. After Nick Samuelson returned a fumble 23 yards to the end zone, Ryan Kent added a seven-yard TD run to give North Central a commanding lead.

After the Pioneers' lone score came on Bryce Corrigan's three-yard toss to Trevor Whitehead, Kent sealed the win with a 62-yard scoring run early in the fourth period.

Kent finished with 177 yards on 22 carries, while Michael Monterrubio paced the Cardinals' defense with 14 tackles.

Corrigan completed 30 of 53 passes for 233 yards and safety Jacob Zilbar totaled 12 tackles for the Pioneers.

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 13 in the most recent D3football.com Top 25 Poll, while UW-Platteville is ranked No. 22.

Scouting the Pioneers: UW-Platteville improved to 2-0 on Saturday with a 31-7 victory at Dubuque, scoring the game's first 21 points and outgaining the Spartans, 433-236.

The Pioneers gained 318 of their 433 yards through the air, as quarterback Tom Kelly completed 24 of 33 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Mitch Munda paced the UWP receivers with nine catches for 115 yards, while Russell Martin gained 98 yards on six receptions. Justin Johnson gained 80 of the Pioneers' 115 rushing yards on 16 attempts.

Defensive back John Hotchkiss led the Pioneers with 12 tackles, while defensive end Andrew Robinson contributed 3.5 tackles for loss.
Kelly has completed 45 of 58 passes (77.6 percent) in the Pioneers' first two games, throwing seven TDs to five different receivers with no interceptions. Robinson has 5.5 of UWP's 12 tackles for loss and two of the team's three quarterback sacks thus far.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central had little trouble securing Jeff Thorne's first head coaching victory in its season opener last week, cruising past visiting Trine, 41-7.

The Cardinals opened the scoring on special teams when Matt Randolph blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone late in the first period. Freshman quarterback Justin Hunniford completed a 42-yard touchdown pass and a 10-yard scoring strike to Ryan Kuhl before Oshayne Brown closed the first half with a 50-yard TD run, the longest of his collegiate career.

Austin Breunig scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 23-yard run in the third period, and Dylan Warden, who started at quarterback and also led the Cardinals with four receptions at wide receiver, scored the game's final TD on a four-yard run late in the third quarter.

The Cardinals outgained Trine, 431-273, and converted 8 of 13 third-down attempts as they won their third straight season opener and made Thorne the 11th North Central head coach to win his debut.

Hunniford completed 13 of 17 passes for 162 yards in his first collegiate contest, while Brown gained 128 yards on just 12 carries and Andrew Sledd picked up 86 yards on 15 rushes.

Justin Stuursma paced the Cardinals' defense with nine tackles, while Kevin Schroeder and Derrek Warkenthien each made two tackles for loss. Kevin Naflefski intercepted a pass and Jack McCoy recorded a quarterback sack.

North Central Career Rankings:  Warden ranks fifth in North Central history in career touchdown passes (24), while kicker Dom Zavaglia ranks fifth all-time in field goals (13) and sixth in extra points (53).

Warden also ranks 11th all-time in passing yards (1,633) and 12th in completions (106), while Brown ranks 17th in rushing yards (1,241), Randolph sits 17th in rushing touchdowns (13) and Kuhl is 18th in receiving touchdowns (7).
 
Around the CCIW: Last week, the CCIW completed the second and final year of its scheduling agreement with the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and St. Norbert College.

North Central was one of four CCIW teams to win last week. Illinois Wesleyan also defeated Alma, 49-14, Wheaton defeated Adrian, 49-0, and Elmhurst topped Hope, 13-7. The same four CCIW representatives also defeated their MIAA opposition last season.

Four other CCIW teams continue non-conference competition this week, as Augustana travels to Loras, Illinois Wesleyan hosts Simpson, North Park plays at Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wheaton hits the road to face Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

CCIW Players of the Week:  Elmhurst's Josh Williams and Brett Bayer and Wheaton's Adam Dansdill were named the CCIW Football Players of the Week on Monday.
 
Williams rushed for 243 yards on 33 attempts and a touchdown in a 13-7 win over Hope on Saturday. He averaged 7.4 yards per carry and scored the Bluejays' only touchdown on an 18-yard run in the second quarter. Williams also had a pair of 21-yard first down runs on his team's final possession to run out the clock. His 243 rushing yards ranks as the fourth-highest single-game total in school history.
 
Dansdill led a Wheaton defense that held Adrian to only 187 total yards and just 53 rushing yards in a 49-0 shutout on Saturday. He finished with 11 total tackles (six solo) including a tackle-for-loss, and forced a fourth quarter fumble that was returned 57 yards for a touchdown.
 
Bayer totaled seven points in the Bluejays' win over Hope on Saturday. He booted a pair of 27-yard field goals and converted an extra point attempt. Additionally, Bayer punted four times for an average of 31.5 yards and dropped one punt inside the 20-yard line.

'Red Zone' Returns in 2015: Once again, fans of North Central College football can get an insider's look at the Cardinals' football program, as 'The Red Zone' highlight show returns for its eighth season on Naperville Community Television, Channel 17.

The show airs each Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and midnight, Friday at 8:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 11:30 p.m., Saturday at 8:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. It will feature interviews with coaches and players, highlights of the previous week's game, and a look ahead to the upcoming opponent.

Each show is viewable online at nctv17.com and is archived at youtube.com/northcentralsports.