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

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Nov. 14: North Central College Cardinals (6-3, 5-1 CCIW) vs. Elmhurst College Bluejays (4-5, 1-5 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: 53-21-1, North Central

Setting the Scene: The Cardinals look to send their senior class off with a 37th and final victory as they host their season finale against a local rival.

Series History: This is the 76th football meeting between the two schools. The Cardinals own a 53-21-1 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last 16 straight meetings dating back to 1999.

North Central was pushed to the limit in last year's season finale at Elmhurst, erasing an early 17-3 deficit and coming through with several big fourth-quarter plays in a 38-31 victory.

With the score tied at 31-31 late in the contest and facing third down-and-17, the Cardinals handed the ball to wide receiver Peter Sorenson, who fired a 42-yard completion to Nolan Brannick on the first and only pass attempt of his four-year career.

Matt Randolph scored what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown on a 13-yard run two plays later, and John Skokna sealed the win by intercepting an Elmhurst pass in the end zone with 35 seconds on the clock.

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 16 this week by D3football.com and No. 22 by the American Football Coaches Association.

Scouting the Bluejays: Elmhurst snapped a five-game losing streak with a come-from-behind victory on Saturday, erasing an early 14-0 deficit and defeating Millikin, 15-14.

The Bluejays got on the board in the third quarter when running back Josh Williams, back in the lineup after missing the previous three games, scored on a 15-yard run and kicker Brett Bayer tacked on a 15-yard field goal.

Elmhurst still trailed, 14-9, until just one minute remained, as quarterback Orlando Hernandez capped a six-play, 67-yard drive with a 10-yard TD pass to Givanni Gonzales.

Despite his absence, Williams has scored half of Elmhurst's 16 offensive touchdowns this season. The Bluejays have struggled to find production elsewhere, ranking last in the CCIW in scoring (12.8 points per game) and passing offense (124.7 yards per game) in conference games.
Hernandez, the Bluejays' starting signal-caller the past three weeks, has completed 22 of 47 passes for 247 yards with one TD and five interceptions while running for 147 yards and another score. Tight end Garrett Claxon is Elmhurst's top receiver with 41 catches for 406 yards.

Linebacker Andy Warsen and safety Sean Wetherell are the leading tacklers for a defense which has allowed 361.2 yards and 26.3 points per game in conference play.

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central saw another stout effort from its defense on Saturday, bottling up Augustana's offense en route to a 27-10 victory on the Vikings' home field.

The Cardinals recorded season highs of 11 tackles for loss and four interceptions and limited Augustana to 211 total yards, including an output of just five rushing yards which ranks as the fourth-lowest ever by a North Central opponent.

Austin Breunig ran for 93 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in the first half, continuing his streak of having scored at least once in every game this season. Breunig enters this week's game with the opportunity to become the first North Central player to score a touchdown in every game for a full season.

Quarterback Justin Hunniford returned from a one-game absence to throw for 126 yards and a touchdown (the first collegiate TD for receiver Kyle Brown) and also run for a two-yard score. Dylan Warden added his sixth TD run of the year to cap the scoring late in the third period.

Richard Zirngibl paced the Cardinals' defense iwth nine tackles, while Kevin Schroeder intercepted two passes, one of which was caught in the end zone, and Steve Liaromatis delivered three tackles for loss.

North Central Career Rankings:  Warden ranks fifth in North Central history in career touchdown passes (28), while kicker Dom Zavaglia ranks second all-time in extra points (88) and fifth in field goals (17).

Warden also ranks seventh all-time in passing yards (2,172) and ninth in completions (141),  Ryan Kuhl is 11th in receiving touchdowns (10) and Randolph sits 12th in rushing touchdowns (18) and total touchdowns (20).

Zavaglia and Randolph rank 12th (139) and 15th (120), respectively, in career scoring.

Breunig's 14 rushing touchdowns tie him for second on North Central's all-time single-season list, trailing only the 17 TDs scored by Nick Kukuc '13 in 2012. Breunig also ranks fifth in total touchdowns, ninth in rushing yards (994) and 10th in all-purpose yards (1,189).
 
Around the CCIW: All eight CCIW teams close regular-season play this week. Augustana travels to Millikin, while Illinois Wesleyan plays at North Park and Carthage visits Wheaton.

In six weeks of conference play, the Cardinals have posted the CCIW's highest totals for rushing offense (234.8 yards per game), rushing defense (81.2 ypg), total defense (282.0 ypg), kickoff return average (23.7 yards per return) and quarterback sacks (21).

Breunig is the CCIW's leader in rushing yards (128.0 ypg) and total touchdowns (10) in conference games.

CCIW Players of the Week:  North Central's Tyler Oakley was named the CCIW Special Teams Player of the Week this week, while Wheaton's Danny Puknaitis and Elmhurst's Perode Charles were recognized on offense and defense, respectively.
 
Oakley returned two kickoffs for 103 yards, including a 70-yard return that set up North Central's final touchdown of the first half, in addition to recording his second interception of the year on defense. The 70-yard return is the Cardinals' longest this season.

'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.