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

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Oct. 10: North Central College Cardinals (2-2, 1-0 CCIW) vs. North Park University Vikings (1-3, 0-1 CCIW)

Kickoff: 1 p.m., Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium
Video: Naperville Community Television, Channel 17/nctv17.com
Radio: 89.1-FM WONC
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/ncc/football/
Game Updates: www.twitter.com/NCC_Athletics
Series History: 43-10-2, North Central

Setting the Scene: The Cardinals look to build upon the momentum gained with a huge fourth quarter in their first CCIW victory by posting a 20th straight victory over North Park.

Series History: This is the 56th football meeting between the two schools. North Central owns a 43-10-2 advantage in the all-time series and has won the last 19 encounters with the Vikings.

The most recent contest occurred at North Park on Oct. 11 of last season. The Cardinals opened the game with 28 unanswered points in the first quarter and went on to claim a 58-26 victory.

Viking quarterback T.D. Conway kept North Park in the game by throwing four touchdown passes, three to wideout Devin Childress, but the Cardinals put the game out of reach with a pair of third-quarter scores by Alex Ulmer, including a 91-yard kickoff return which ranks as the longest such return in North Central's history.

The Cardinals have scored at least 40 points in eight of the last 10 meetings with North Park, including an 83-point outing in 2009 which has been topped by only two North Central teams in the past 60 years. The Vikings' most recent win in the series came by a score of 29-14 in 1995.

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 17 this week by D3football.com and No. 22 by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

Scouting the Vikings: North Park opened CCIW play at home last week, hosting seventh-ranked Wheaton College, and suffered a 31-7 defeat.

Trailing, 17-0, at halftime, the Vikings opened the third quarter by scoring their lone touchdown on a 13-yard pass from T.D. Conway to Anthony Burton, but managed just three first downs the rest of the way.

Since opening the season with a 23-16 win over Concordia Wisconsin, North Park has lost its last three games.

Conway has been responsible for the lion's share of offensive production, throwing nearly 50 passes per game and gaining 241 of the Vikings' 317 yards per game through the air. Burton has been the team's top receiver with 25 catches for 290 yards.

Linebacker Brendon Dull is the Vikings' top tackler with 44 stops and linebacker Chaun Maiava leads the way with 6.5 tackles for loss and four quarterback sacks.

This Week for the Cardinals: After two straight narrow defeats, North Central appeared headed for another close finish Saturday at Millikin before exploding for 35 straight points in the final 13:42 to open conference play with a 49-21 victory.

On a rainy, windswept evening, the Cardinals switched from their original offensive plan to a power-based running attack and overwhelmed Millikin, running 17 straight running plays while also getting fumble recoveries from the defensive and special-teams units.

Dylan Warden led the charge, moving back to quarterback from the wide-receiver position and running for 103 yards and three scores on 11 carries. Austin Breunig added 91 yards on 15 carries and Matt Randolph ran for 88 yards on 11 attempts. Both scored touchdowns, as did Andrew Sledd.

Justin Hunniford completed 16 of 31 passes for 187 yards, hitting Alex Ulmer six times for 95 yards and a touchdown.

Richard Zirngibl put up seven tackles and intercepted a first-quarter pass which led to the game's first score, while Justin Stuursma made three tackles for loss, forced a fumble and recovered another. Jimmy Pelnarsh and Diondrey Hood also recovered fumbles.

North Central Career Rankings:  Warden ranks fifth in North Central history in career touchdown passes (25), while kicker Dom Zavaglia ranks fourth all-time in extra points (71) and fifth in field goals (13).

Warden also ranks 11th all-time in passing yards (1,655) and 12th in completions (109),  Kuhl is 13th in receiving touchdowns (9) and Randolph sits 13th in rushing touchdowns (16) and 15th in total touchdowns (18).

Zavaglia and Randolph rank 18th (110) and 20th (108), respectively, in career scoring.
 
Around the CCIW: Also winning on the first weekend of conference play were Illinois Wesleyan over Carthage (21-17) and Augustana over Elmhurst (9-3). Wheaton hosts Augustana this week, while Illinois Wesleyan entertains Millikin and Elmhurst hosts Carthage.

CCIW Players of the Week:  Wheaton's Andrew Bowers, Augustana's Frank Kalble and Illinois Wesleyan's Artie Checchin were named the CCIW Football Players of the Week on Monday.
 
Bowers stepped in for injured starter Johnny Peltz and amassed 426 yards of total offense during a 31-7 win at North Park in the CCIW opener on Saturday. He finished 21-of-30 for 372 yards and two touchdown passes and rushed for 54 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown.
 
Kalble totaled 11 tackles (eight solo) and two pass breakups during the Vikings' 9-3 win over Elmhurst in the CCIW opener on Saturday. Kalble helped limit the Bluejays to just 221 yards of total offense including 49 rushing and 172 passing.
 
Checchin recovered an onside kick that led to the game-winning touchdown during the Titans' 21-17 come-from-behind win over Carthage on Saturday. Checchin made two touchdown catches along with the onside kick in the final 1:19 and finished with 10 catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns on the day.

'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 as well as the newly-redesigned northcentralcardinals.com.