Sep 19, 2015
The North Central College football team appeared headed toward a victory late in Saturday's contest at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, but the host Pioneers rallied with two touchdowns in the final 4:17 to force overtime and take down the Cardinals, 35-28, in the extra session at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.
The 13th-ranked Cardinals (1-1) succumbed in their first overtime contest since 2009 and lost to UW-Platteville for the first time after defeating the Pioneers in each of the previous two seasons.
North Central led nearly from the game's outset, as Oshayne Brown ran 62 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage, completing his longest collegiate run for the second straight week. The Pioneers (3-0) completed a 13-play, 90-yard drive to tie the score, getting a 16-yard touchdown pass from Tom Kelly to Dan Arnold with 12:17 left in the second period.
Brown nudged the visitors back in front, 14-7, by running for a 19-yard TD with 7:19 left in the second quarter. The Cardinals got a 59-yard interception return from Pat Cravens on the ensuing drive and took a commanding 21-7 lead on Dylan Warden's seven-yard TD pass to Ryan Kuhl with 4:09 before halftime.
After a scoreless third period, the Cardinals jumped ahead, 28-7, on Austin Breunig's 46-yard TD run with 14:11 left in regulation. UW-Platteville began to cut into the 21-point deficit with 11:24 left, when running back Ryan Fish scored from one yard out to cap off an eight-play, 66-yard drive on the next possession.
The Pioneers stuffed a fourth-down conversion attempt on the next drive and moved 66 yards on 14 plays to score on Arnold's seven-yard reception from Kelly with 4:17 to play. The hosts forced a punt on the ensuing drive and got a game-tying score from their special-teams unit, as Dillon Villhauer ran the punt back 75 yards to the end zone to knot the score at 28-28 with 2:38 to play.
North Central was unable to secure a go-ahead score in regulation, and the Pioneers took the ball first to start overtime. After drawing a pass-interference penalty, Platteville ran three straight plays near the goal line and scored on a one-yard plunge by Kelly on third down. The Cardinals came up empty on downs on the final series of the afternoon.
The Pioneers outgained North Central, 400-364, despite the Cardinals owning a 230-85 advantage on the ground. Brown ran for a game-high 133 yards on 15 carries, while Breunig picked up 75 yards on 11 carries.Justin Hunniford completed 9 of 14 passes for 112 yards, hitting D Gray three times for a team-best 65 yards.
Justin Stuursma made a career-high 15 tackles to pace the North Central defense, while Kevin Nalefskifinished with 11 and Richard Zirngibl totaled eight. Stuursma, Zirngibl and Steve Liaromatis recorded quarterback sacks and Tyler Oakley added an interception.
Kelly completed 30 of 56 passes for 315 yards, while Arnold caught 10 passes for 110 yards and Quinn Buschbacher made eight grabs for 73 yards. Justin Johnson gained 70 yards on 18 carries. John Hotchkiss and Andrew Belken each made 10 tackles.
The Cardinals host No 5-ranked Wesley College (Delaware) next Saturday at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m.