Its opposition was quick out of the gate, but the North Central College football team kept its composure, pulled even and dominated down the stretch in its 2014 season opener at St. Norbert College on Saturday, overwhelming the Green Knights for a 51-17 victory at Donald J. Schneider Stadium.
The first regular-season meeting between the two teams resulted in the most decisive season-opening win for the sixth-ranked Cardinals since a 41-7 victory over Cornell College in 2010. North Central spotted the hosts a 17-6 lead at the game's outset, but closed the first half with 21 straight points and pitched a 24-0 shutout after halftime.
The Green Knights (1-1) forced a punt on the game's first possession, and North Central's kick traveled just 11 yards to give the hosts the ball at the Cardinals' 45-yard line. Despite traveling just 18 yards in seven plays, St. Norbert was able to bring on kicker Randy Hill for a 44-yard field goal attempt, which was converted for an early 3-0 advantage. North Central was forced to punt again after just three plays on its next drive as well, and the hosts put together a 12-play, 72-yard jaunt which culminated in a one-yard touchdown pass from James Tringali to Zach Reeves. With 4:07 left in the first period, the Cardinals were staring down a 10-0 deficit.
The visitors' offense got moving on the following possession, as North Central converted a trio of first downs to move into St. Norbert territory. Facing a fourth down-and-nine from the Knights' 35, quarterback Dylan Warden found Peter Sorensonon a 31-yard pass play to set up first-and-goal at the four-yard line. Two plays later, Warden lofted another pass to Sorenson, who brought the ball down in the left corner of the end zone for the Cardinals' initial touchdown. The extra-point attempt was off the mark, leaving the score at 10-6 near the end of the opening period.
North Central's punting unit continued to experience difficulties on its next appearance, as the Knights' Dan Egan blocked a punt to give his team possession just 28 yards from the goal line. With 9:54 left in the first half, Tringali found Reeves in the end zone for a 17-yard scoring pass, boosting the home team's lead to 17-6.
The Cardinals' offense began to pick up steam on its next appearance on the field, as Warden passed to Matt Houstonfor one first down and ran for two more before lofting a 36-yard TD pass to Sorenson to complete an eight-play, 79-yard drive with 7:02 left in the half to narrow the gap to 17-13. North Central's defense held fast and forced a punt shortly thereafter, and the Cardinals covered 61 yards in 10 plays to take the lead for the first time on Sorenson's third TD catch of the day, a three-yarder from Warden on the right edge of the end zone.
With 1:11 left before halftime, North Central owned its first lead at 20-17, but the guests were able to tack on one additional score before time ran out as linebacker Steve Liaromatisscooped up a Tringali fumble and ran it back 22 yards for a score on St. Norbert's next possession. After forcing another punt, North Central had an opportunity to extend its lead further, advancing into Knight territory before running out of time. The Cardinals carried a 27-17 advantage into the break.
North Central shut down the Knights' first drive of the second half and used its ground game to get in the end zone again.Ryan Kent carried the ball four straight times, gaining 59 yards, to move the Cardinals into striking distance before Matt Randolph ran around the left end for a five-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 34-17 with 9:41 on the third-quarter clock. Kent scored on a one-yard plunge on North Central's next possession, and Zack Pattat ran for a 13-yard score with 1:09 left in the third period to provide the Cardinals with a 48-17 advantage. The final score of the day came with 4:31 to play in the game, as Dom Zavaglia kicked a 32-yard field goal.
North Central outgained the Knights, 506-195, including a 255-47 advantage after halftime, and scored on five drives of 60 yards or more. The Cardinals forced St. Norbert to punt eight times, and each of the hosts' final nine possessions resulted in punts or turnovers.
In his first collegiate start at quarterback, Warden completed 17 of 23 passes for 265 yards while running for 66 yards on 15 carries. Kent led the Cardinals with 98 rushing yards on 15 attempts, while Demarco Tillman led North Central with a career-best seven receptions for 78 yards. Sorenson made five grabs for a team-best 107 yards, matching his career high of three touchdowns achieved at Wheaton College on Nov. 9 of last season.
Peter Mann and Nick Samuelson each totaled six tackles to pace the Cardinals' defense, while Justin Stuursma and Brad Kuchenbecker each finished with five. Stuursma intercepted a pass and returned it to the end zone for an apparent touchdown before it was called back due to a penalty. He was credited with a 48-yard return.
Tringali completed 14 of 28 passes for 99 yards, throwing five times to Reeves for 42 yards. Elijah Fort gained a team-high 58 yards on 16 rushing attempts and Matt Petersilka led all defenders with 12 tackles.
North Central plays its first home game of the season next Saturday, hosting the eighth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The Pioneers (2-0) defeated the University of Dubuque on Saturday, 26-21. Links to live audio and in-game statistics, as well as a live video broadcast by Naperville Community Television, are available by clicking HERE.