By Gordon Mann
D3sports.com
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – After lopsided results in the prior two national championship games, North Central’s third consecutive trip to the title game resulted in a thrilling 28-21 victory over Mount Union in Stagg Bowl XLIX.
The Cardinals dominated the first half, took a 21-0 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, and then withstood the Purple Raiders’ rally to win their second title in three years.
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North Central won the 2019 national championship with ease, rolling over UW-Whitewater 41-14. The script flipped in the next national title game when Mary Hardin-Baylor blasted the Cardinals in the 2021 Stagg Bowl, 57-24.
This third time around, the game was tighter, and the Cardinals made sure that “Refuse to lose” is not just a nice catchphrase that hangs on the wall at their stadium and gets chanted at the end of games.
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| Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com |
“Mount Union made us fight, scratch, crawl and claw, but that’s what football is in December,” said North Central coach Brad Spencer. “You gotta be able to control the line of scrimmage, block, tackle, and most importantly play for each other.”
North Central played well early on both sides of the ball.
Mount Union won the toss, deferred, and kicked the ball to North Central. The Cardinals quarterback Luke Lehnen showed his dual-threat skill set on their first drive of the game. On their first pass play, Lehnen broke the pocket and ran the ball 26 yards to the Mount Union 37. Then, Lehnen went to the air and found Ethan Greenfield for a 34-yard touchdown pass on a wheel route that put the Cardinals on the scoreboard.
After the Mount Union offense went three and out on its first possession, Joe Sacco returned the punt to the Cardinals’ 48. North Central converted one fourth down opportunity with a five-yard run from Greenfield on fourth and one. They had another fourth down opportunity from the Mount Union 18 and elected to try a Tanner Rains 32-yard field goal, which sailed wide left.
Mount Union failed to get a first down on its second drive and punted the ball back to North Central again. The Purple Raiders finished the first quarter with three total yards of offense on six plays.
After the teams traded punts, Mount Union took over at its own 29 early in the second quarter. The Purple Raiders picked up their first 1st down when Braxton Plunk scrambled nine yards on third and seven. A North Central pass interference penalty put Mount Union into Cardinals territory and then a targeting penalty moved the ball to the North Central 37. But three consecutive pre-snap penalties on the Mount Union offense stalled the drive, and the Purple Raiders kicked the ball back to North Central.
The teams traded punts again, and North Central took over at its own six. On the only play of the drive, Lehnen found DeAngelo Hardy open behind the Mount Union defense at the North Central 36 and he ran 64 yards for the touchdown. Rains added the extra point, giving North Central a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Mount Union punter Elliot Warner knelt to catch a low snap and inadvertently downed the ball at the Mount Union 17 . North Central tried to ride Greenfield into the endzone, giving him the ball four times, but Matt Lilja and Von Factor stuffed him on fourth and short to keep the score 14-0 entering halftime.
Mount Union opened the second half with an 18-play drive that put the Purple Raiders inside the Cardinals’ red zone when Plunk rushed for 13 yards to the Cardinals 19. Gacing a fourth and one at the North Central 10, the Purple Raiders elected to go for it and gave the ball to running back Lance Mitchell who dropped by Angelo Cusamano and Julian Bell for a loss of three.
On the ensuing North Central possession, the Cardinals gave the ball to Ethan Greenfield and he rumbled for 58 yards to the Mount Union 26. North Central used the rest of the third quarter clock and, on second and goal from the four, the Cardinals snapped the ball directly to Greenfield who ran untouched into the endzone. Rains’ extra point made it 21-0 with 14:56 to play.
Mount Union answered with another long drive, and this one produced points. Plunk capped the drive when he faked the handoff and then ran the ball into the endzone. Thomas Piccirillo’s extra point cut the North Central lead to 21-7 with 9:19 left.
After forcing a three and out, Mount Union got the ball back and quickly drove into Cardinals’ territory. On fourth and 13 from the North Central 31, Plunk scrambled away from trouble and fired the ball 28 yards to Wayne Ruby. Two plays later, Plunk found Ruby for his 30th touchdown reception of the year and Picirrilo’s extra point made it a one-score game.
Mount Union decided to try an onside kick that was easily handled by North Central safety Zack Orr at the Purple Raiders’ 47. On third and 10, Lehnen called his own number and ran 42 yards to the Mount Union five. Three players later, Lehnen zipped the ball to Hardy in the endzone. The pass was initially called incomplete, but after review, the officials confirmed Hardy’s touchdown catch before tumbling out of bounds, making the score 28-14.
When asked about the Lehnen’s third down conversion, North Central credited tight end Alec Wolff who threw the block to spring the big gain. “That’s a long block. To make that block for four or five seconds, and give Luke time to pull that football and get out around the end. Luke’s fast, maybe the fastest kid on the field, but that’s still a long block,” said Spencer.
The Purple Raiders refused to surrender and drove into the Cardinals territory once more. Plunk found Ruby for a 41-yard gain to the Cardinals’ five and then Plunk hit Edwin Reed on a crossing route for the score, Plunk’s 50th passing touchdown of the season.
Mount Union attempted the onside kick with 24 seconds left but Hardy fielded the high hop to seal the Cardinals’ victory and the national championship.
Plunk threw for 234 yards and two touchdown passes. Ruby had nine catches for 109 yards and a score. Rossy Moore seven stops, two for loss, for Mount Union (14-1).
“I lost my last game [as a player] at Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl. There are no words that are going to make this feel better right now, but we fought till the end. We played hard,” said Purple Raiders head coach Geoff Dartt after the game. “We’re not into moral victories at Mount Union. We lost the game and that is what it is.”
Hardy had three receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Lehnen ran for 98 yards and threw for 141 yards and three touchdowns. Bell had six tackles, including the big stop on fourth down midway through the third quarter, for North Central (15-0).
All-American Greenfield finished with 119 yards and a touchdown on the ground, plus another through the air. He was named the Most Outstanding of the Game, giving him another honor to go with the Gagliardi Trophy that was announced before the game.
“Tonight’s been very special for a lot of reasons,” Greenfield reflected after the game. “My teammates deserve to be champions because that’s how they work and the people that they are.”