A return to the friendly confines of Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium
turned out to be just what the North Central College football team
needed Saturday night, as the Cardinals rallied after a
season-opening loss and torched the Bethel University (Tenn.)
Wildcats, 70-26, to put the first mark in the win column in
2011.
North Central matched the fifth-highest single-game scoring output
in the program's history and also tied a single-game school record
with eight quarterback sacks after managing just one in last week's
game at the University of Redlands.
"I think the fans really enjoyed watching this one tonight," said
the Cardinals' head coach, John
Thorne. "The first quarter, out in California, we played
really well, but for whatever reason we started having too many
mistakes and mental errors, but that happens a lot of times in the
first game.
"We have to keep experimenting with different players and
different schemes to make sure that by the time we start playing
conference games we'll really know what team we have. I was really
proud of them tonight."
It took a series for the Cardinals' offense to get on track, as
they punted on the game's opening possession. After receiving a
punt from Bethel, North Central began its second series at its own
45. Three plays later, Brad
Crackel threw deep and found a
wide-open Manny
Juarez for a 37-yard touchdown pass.
The Cardinals' next drive also ended with a punt, but the hosts
got a score from the defense on the ensuing Bethel series. On the
first play of the drive, Stewart
Charles stepped in front of a pass from Wildcat
quarterback Wil Masoud and rambled 30 yards to the end zone,
doubling North Central's lead with 6:08 left in the opening
period.
Bethel (1-1) got its first scoring opportunity on a turnover as
well, as Crackel attempted to avoid a sack by throwing the ball
away. The ball instead landed in the hands of Wildcat defensive
back Chase Graham, who returned it to the Cardinals' three-yard
line. On third down at the one-yard line, Masoud dove forward on a
quarterback sneak to get the visitors on the board. A fumbled
option pitch on the first play of North Central's next drive gave
Bethel another short-field opportunity, but the Wildcats had to
settle for a 40-yard field goal by kicker Tim Donegan with 14:53
left in the second period.
A Bethel penalty on the following kickoff set the Cardinals up at
their own 49 to start their next drive. Crackel ran 19 yards on the
second play from scrimmage, then threw a 32-yard TD pass
to Kyle
Fiedorowicz to begin what would become a 35-point
quarter for the home team.
Defensive lineman Peter
Mann ended Bethel's next drive with an interception
that gave North Central the ball back at the Bethel 8, and two
plays later, Crackel found Fiedorowicz in the end zone again. On
the Wildcats' next possession, defensive end Alex
Tripp forced a fumble, which was recovered at the
Bethel 27 by Shane
Dierking. Two plays later, Nick
Kukuc ran around the right end and dove for the
corner of the end zone to complete an 18-yard scoring
run.
Defensive back Alex
Pirela forced another fumble at the Bethel 23,
and John
Focosi pounced on the ball to set the Cardinal
offense up with another short trip, and Kukuc capped off a
three-play drive with a seven-yard TD run. Bethel went three plays
and out on its next drive, and the Cardinals drove 47 yards in five
plays and increased their lead to 49-10 after Ryan
Kent crossed the goal line from 15 yards out.
"I think coming out here, it was more of a comfort thing than
anything, being on our home field," Crackel said. "We got off to
kind of a slow start, but then we really got rolling. It was a lot
of little adjustments here and there. We needed to get better at
the little things, and we did, so now we have to make sure we keep
getting better."
The Wildcats opened the second half with their first sustained
scoring drive, moving 70 yards in seven plays and scoring on a
13-yard run by Dominique Allen. On the final possession for the
Cardinals' offensive starters, however, North Central traveled 67
yards on just three plays and scored on Crackel's 11-yard
run.
Cardinal freshman running back Ryan
Kent opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a
75-yard TD run, matching the fifth-longest running play in school
history. Kent then added his third touchdown of the evening on
North Central's next drive, scoring from 45 yards out.
Kent finished with 176 rushing yards on just nine carries,
while Jordan
Tassiogained 98 yards on 11 attempts. Crackel completed 6
of 15 passes for 117 yards, and Fiedorowicz led the Cardinals'
receivers for the second straight week with four catches for 69
yards.
Joey
Michals finished with a team-high seven tackles for
North Central, while Peter
Bulandr collected three quarterback sacks. The
Cardinals had 15 tackles for loss in all and forced Bethel to punt
12 times.
"We definitely came out with a bang," said senior
linebacker Kane
Thompson, who finished with six tackles and one sack.
"We've got our swagger back, and we have to stay confident and move
on to next week."
The Cardinals host Olivet next Saturday. Kickoff at
Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m.
North Central Bounces Back, Blows Out Bethel
/seasons/2011/boxscores/20110910_7h5w.xml
2011
Bethel (Tenn.)
26
North Central (Ill.)
70
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel (Tenn.) (1-1) | 7 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 26 |
| No. 6 North Central (Ill.) (1-1) | 14 | 35 | 7 | 14 | 70 |
Sep 10, 2011