Colton Bauknecht and Ricky Strba make a hole for North Central running back Ethan Greenfield, at back right.

By Adam Turer
D3football.com

When you want to crash a party, there are a few routes you can take.

You can tiptoe around and try to sneak in. Maybe partake in some subterfuge so nobody sees you coming. 

Or, you can maul your way right through the front door.

• More 2019 playoff headlines
• Meylor breaks out as UWW quarterback
• North Central refuses to lose (Dec. 3)
• North Central in playoff mode since October (Nov. 20)

Now, a brief oral history on the 2019 Stagg Bowl party crashers and the offensive line that paved the way. 

The men without numbers

Seven-hundred and thirty-six points. Seven thousand, eight hundred and thirty-four yards.

The numbers are eye-popping, but the individual statistics belong to others. 

Broc Rutter is a Gagliardi finalist, the CCIW Offensive Player of the Year and is sure to repeat at a D3football.com All-America selection. Andrew Kamienski holds the Division III single-season record for touchdown receptions with 30. Ethan Greenfield rewrote the North Central rushing record book. 

Kamienski would set the program’s single season all-purpose yards record in 2019, but only if he outgains Greenfield by 502 yards in the Stagg Bowl. 

These miles of yardage are made possible by the Cardinals offensive line.

Ethan Greenfield, running back: It all starts up front. Every game is lost and won on the line of scrimmage. Thankfully our offensive line is so talented and dedicated to being great. There is so much trust between me and them to the point where they practice how they play and I already know where the holes are going to be. 

Brad Spencer, offensive coordinator: It’s all because of the offensive line. They are the most unsung group on the football field and perhaps in all of sports. We do as much as we can as a program to put our O-line on a pedestal. The guys we have this year have really done an amazing job.

Andrew Kamienski, wide receiver: With our O-line being so physical and as athletic as they are, it allows us to do pretty much whatever we want to do. It opens up huge lanes for Ethan and protects Rutter passing. Everything we’re able to accomplish on offense is because of those guys. 

Ricky Strba, right guard: We’ve been doing the same thing all year: working hard Monday through Thursday, preparing ourselves to play six seconds at a time during each game. 

Broc Rutter, quarterback: They’ve been outstanding. They’ve got to be right up there with the best in the country. The camaraderie they’ve built is unbelievable. Every single week we want to run the football first. We feel if we can get Ethan and the offensive line working, then teams can’t drop eight [in coverage]. It’s really tough on a defensive coordinator to defend the pass and the run and that’s a big credit to our guys up front. They can do it all. 

The guiding force

That versatility starts with junior left guard Sharmore Clarke. The CCIW started handing out a conference lineman of the year award in 2018. Two years in, and there’s only been one winner. The soon-to-be two-time All-American is the force that drives his fellow linemen, which in turn propels the rest of the offensive juggernaut forward.

Sharmore Clarke, left, and Will Ebert, right, anchor the left side of the North Central offensive line.

Rutter: Sharmore is the best offensive lineman in the country. He’s a little bit undersized [6-0, 260], but his speed and technique, bar none there’s no one that does it better. 

Spencer: Sharmore is about as talented an offensive lineman at this level as you’re going to get. 

Strba: Sharmore is our motivator. He’s an intense guy and he loves football. When you see that, it brings everybody together.

Eric Stuedemann, offensive line coach: Sharmore brings a lot of energy and passion and he leads by example. 

Sharmore Clarke, left guard: Most of it is preparation. Our coaches put in a great game plan and all week we do nothing but hammer that game plan out. When you have a great quarterback and amazing running back like that, it makes it so much easier to be a multi-dimensional team. We have amazing weapons all around. 

Alex Rose, tight end: When you have a guy that receives such great accolades, it’s easy to come off as cocky. That’s not Sharmore Clarke at all. It’s always about what we’ve achieved. He gets pumped for all of us, never talking about himself. 

The impressive rookie

Clarke and Strba, a fifth-year senior, control the interior of the line. Senior Colton Bauknecht mans the right tackle position. Sophomore Will Ebert battled injuries earlier in the season, but has gained strength and helped solidify the line from his left tackle position. Senior Jake Fiedler, junior Jordan Ryan, and junior Nate Gray have been Swiss Army Knives, filling in at multiple positions and providing depth across the line. 

That leaves the center position. You might expect the fulcrum of such a dominant offense to be a senior captain who can identify a defense and make line calls like he’s an assistant coach on the field. But the first North Central player to touch the ball on each snap is a first year. Just 13 months ago, Jarod Thornton played in his final game for Homewood-Flossmoor High School. 

The freshman has been a revelation for the Cardinals, and has thrived at a level that belies his experience.

Greenfield: Jarod has an insane amount of maturity for a freshman. It’s a hard offense to learn. He worked hard every day and has become one of the best at it. 

Kamienski: He cares, he wants to get better, he wants to win. At the center position, you need a guy like that. He came in right away so dominant and has gotten better each week.

Rose: Jarod has been so physical from the get-go and that gives us the confidence we have in him. He’s taken to it so well. 

Spencer: JT is a special young man in terms of his leadership and maturity. Nate Gray [last year’s starter at center] has been a good mentor and good teammate in supporting Jarod.

Stuedemann: You’ve got to give Jarod a lot of credit but also to the leadership of the upperclassmen who built that bond together. The offense as a whole trusts each other. The culture that’s been created here is “Don’t count your reps; make your reps count.” When you have chemistry like we do, it’s not a coincidence that we’re here. That goes all the way down to our scout team who give us great looks in practice. 

Clarke: Coming in, he knew that he had a chance to start. We just encouraged him to be himself. 

Strba: Jarod came in as a very, very good high school player from a very good program. He fit in right away, learned the offense, and he’s a hard worker.

Before Jeff Thorne was North Central's head coach, he was the offensive coordinator.

Thorne: Our freshman center made a huge difference on our offensive line this year. Jarod Thornton has just been phenomenal really from the beginning of the season and really helped solidify that group.

Rutter: You’ve got to give credit to Jarod, he came in right away and jelled. I can’t tell you how much respect I have for Jarod. I hosted him on his overnight visit last year. We put a lot on our center. He’s really matured this season. I couldn’t be prouder of him. We spend a lot of time together. He’s such a prepared guy. It makes my job really easy. 

The minds behind the plays

The Cardinals essentially have three offensive coordinators on the staff. Before Jeff Thorne took the head coaching reins from his father, John, he was North Central’s OC. After playing under the Thornes, Spencer never left, joining the coaching staff upon graduating in 2004. Stuedemann had a longer journey after graduating from North Central in 2007, but found his way back to the program this year after spending the past five seasons as offensive coordinator at Aurora. While Spencer ultimately makes the calls, having a trio of offensive minds who are so invested in the North Central program gives the Cardinals an edge. 

Offensive line coach Eric Stuedemann returned to North Central this season to coach along with fellow alumni.

Thorne: Coach Spencer has been with us for as long as I’ve been here. It’s crazy during games when he’s calling plays and I’ve got ideas, we see things so similarly. We laugh “Get out of my head!” We have three guys in a room who have all called offense for a while. It’s a lot of fun to collaborate together. It’s a fun room. We share ideas and at the end of the day, the players have to execute. 

Spencer: I’ve learned offensive football from him. We look at things in almost identical ways. It’s rare that we’re not seeing things the exact same way. There are a lot of football minds on our staff. To have Eric who’s been a coordinator at two different levels and coached under Dan Mullen at Mississippi State when they turned that program around, he brings different things to the table.

Rutter: We have such a great relationship with our coaches. I’ve created a great off-field relationship with them as well. We basically have three offensive coordinators on our staff. I’m able to go to them and we bounce things off each other. 

Rose: Almost all of our coaches are North Central alums. That speaks volumes about how this culture is developed and what we have here is special. 

Strba: We’re playing this season for us, but also for the players who came before us. Seeing how much time and effort our coaches put into this program not just as coaches but as players really inspires us.

Kamienski: The relationship is sweet because they’ve set the foundation for what we’re doing now. We’re not just playing for us, we’re playing for our coaching staff and all the alumni who came before us.

Clarke: We understand that they invested the same amount of time that we do and they want what’s best for us. This program is their baby.

Greenfield: It adds a lot. You can tell how much they truly care about us as people and as players and this program. That helps us on so many levels with this coaching staff. 

Stuedemann: Coaching with a lot of guys that I played with, and coaching for Coach Thorne who I played for, it’s amazing what you can accomplish when everyone is working together toward the same goals and having fun doing it.

Spencer: All of our full-time coaches played under our head coach. We remember the transformation that has happened and all of the work that has gone into it. We’re really fortunate to have an administration that supports us. It’s really amazing. 

The hiccup, and the bounce back

Andrew Kamienski has caught 30 touchdown passes this season.

This season hasn’t been completely dominant. The Cardinals have one blemish on their schedule, a Week 5 loss to CCIW rival Wheaton in the Little Brass Bell game. After a Rutter-to-Kamienski touchdown with 4:47 to play in the third quarter gave North Central a 21-14 lead, the offense was shut out. The Thunder rolled to a 35-21 victory, at put the Cardinals in survival mode for the rest of the season. 

Wheaton finished the regular season as the top defense in the country. In the postseason, the Cardinals have defeated the total yardage defenses ranked No. 2 (Delaware Valley), No. 3 (Mount Union), and No. 19 (Muhlenberg). Those three teams collectively gave up a total of just 295 points during the regular season. That’s 30 games. In three games against North Central, those defenses yielded 135 points. Since being stymied by Wheaton, the Cardinals have relished the challenge of facing other imposing defenses. 

Clarke: After that game, we had to stay hungry in every situation. Without that loss, I don’t think we’d be this resilient and hungry for what’s coming next. We’ve played the top defenses and it’s an amazing feeling having those teams bend to our will. We understand it’s going to be a dog fight. We’ve seen this type of defense. We’re really prepared.

Kamienski: That game was a reality check for us. They bullied us in that third quarter. We watched that film and saw some of our guys not play their hearts out. Ever since that day, we’ve been getting on each other and changed our mindset and approach. That’s what our offense prides ourselves on. We want to play the best every week. We want four quarter challenges. That’s what makes football fun. The blowout wins aren’t necessarily fun for the whole game. 

Greenfield: We talked about how we respond is going to make or break our season. It was a wake-up call that we aren’t invincible. We’ve had to fight every single game like it’s a playoff game. When we get in situations in close games, we tell each other to keep fighting. We love a challenge. We’ve gone against some of the most talented defenses in the nation and we’re excited to go up against another one. We love going up against a team that’s as big and strong and fast as us and we embrace the challenge. 

Strba: Against Wheaton, we controlled the majority of the first three quarters. Once we lost the lead, we didn’t know how to respond. Ever since then, we’ve been able to laugh at adversity we’re facing.

Rose: I think it really comes back to how much we care about each other. When things are going tough, you look to the guy next to you. 

Pounding the rock

If you looked at Rutter’s numbers and performance, you wouldn’t think that this North Central team prides itself on establishing the run. Or runs the ball much at all. The senior has shattered every Cardinals passing record this year, in many cases breaking the own marks he set in 2018. The Gagliardi Trophy finalist has passed for 4,328 yards and 54 touchdowns, averaging 10.6 yards per attempt while completing 71.3 percent of his passes. But, the Cardinals insist they want to be a run-first team. That’s what it takes to compete and win this deep into December, and getting Greenfield and the ground game going will be a necessity against UW-Whitewater’s stout defensive front. 

Ethan Greenfield has shrugged off tacklers in all sorts of uniforms this season.

Strba: We have a great quarterback with Broc so if we can open up running lanes, we take big pride in the fact that he doesn’t have to do all the work. We have a lot more fun running the ball for big gains. If you break a couple of big runs during the first half, you see the defense start giving up. That’s when we get those big leads like we did on Saturday. 

Stuedemann: We’ve got some pretty special guys who can make plays whenever they touch the ball. Our guys take pride in that and those guys who score the touchdowns are so appreciative of the guys who block for them.

Kevin Bullis, UW-Whitewater head coach: The key piece is being able to play the game physical. Being able to take care of the run game, which to me is saying you’ve got to be able to take care of first and ten. That comes down to limiting that running attack that they have. We’ve been very pleased with our physicality. Any time you talk about the run game, it’s not just the D-line, but they do make the game simpler for your support players. It all starts with them. 

Greenfield: We always want to establish the run in every game. If we start running the ball well and make them put an extra man in the box, we like those odds of us throwing the ball.