Going on the road in the national semifinals turned out to be no problem for the defending national champs, as No. 1 North Central gave up an early score, a late score, and ran off the final 6:40 of the clock to defeat No. 4 Mount Union 26-13.
The win was the 24th in a row for North Central and secured a second consecutive Stagg Bowl for the Cardinals, against Mary Hardin-Baylor, which defeated W-Whitewater 24-7 in the other semifinal. It was also the second consecutive win for North Central in Alliance, Ohio, after the Cardinls defeated Mount Union in the second round in 2019.
Ethan Greenfield ran for a game-high 190 yards and Luke Lehnen ran for 84 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals took a knee on the Mount Union 7-yard line in the final seconds rather than punch in an extra score.
The Purple Raiders used a number of short-to-medium length passes moving into a stiff wind, to get the ball in the end zone on their first possession of the game. Braxton Plunk hit Wayne Ruby, Jr., for completions of 18 and 14 yards, Josh Petruccelli had a 12-yard run and a 10-yard catch, and Jaden Manley caught a ball for 24 yards down to the 8, then an 8-yard touchdown run to give Mount Union an early 7-0 lead. But the Cardinals (13-0) answered with a 12-play drive that burned an impressive 7:10 off the clock and cut the lead to 7-6. Lehnen moved the chains on a 20-yard scamper, Greenfield had two first-down runs and Lehnen's only throw on the possession was a 4-yarder to DeAngelo Hardy for the touchdown.
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| Photo by John Reid for North Central athletics |
Tanner Rains' extra point was missed in the wind after the first was waved off because of a penalty.
Much like in the Little Brass Bell game against rival Wheaton, the Cardinals defense settled down after giving up the early touchdown. Tyler Rich pressured Plunk into an incomplete pass on third-and-4. After the teams traded punts, Plunk again missed on third down and the Purple Raiders went three-and-out. That's when the Greenfield and the Cardinals went to work. The running back rumbled 23 yards into Mount Union territory and Lehnen followed by finding tight end Matt Robinson wide open in space, hitting him with a pass into the wind which Robinson took and rolled to the end zone, diving in for six and giving the Cardinals a 13-7 lead.
The Cardinals got one more scoring opportunity before halftime as Petruccelli dropped the ball at the end of a 23-yard run. Lehnen and running back Terrence Hill got the ball into Mount Union territory and the Cardinals were beneficiaries of a personal foul pentalty to move the chains on third down. The drive stalled after a holding penalty against North Central, however, and North Central came out to attempt a 37-yard field goal into the wind which Rains missed wide left, as it bent with the wind. But North Central was whistled for a false start, moved 5 yards further back and Rains hit the second kick from 42 to give North Central a 16-7 lead at the half.
Mount Union again threw an incomplete pass on third down to open the second half and punted, but Malik Britt intercepted a pass downfield as Lehnen tried to find Andrew Kamienski downfield in double coverage. Plunk hit Ruby for an 18-yard gain right off the bat, but Mount Union eventually punted. And that's when Greenfield broke loose again, rolling 40 yards up the right-hand side of the field to get down to the Mount Union 3. Lehnen eventually ended that drive by fighting his way into the end zone for a touchdown and a 23-7 lead.
The Cardinals defense later came up with another big stop, sacking Plunk twice, including a 17-yard loss on fourth down that gave the Cardinals the ball at the Purple Raiders 33. Rains and North Central converted that with another field goal into that wind, hitting from 31 yards out to make it 26-7. The Purple Raiders did come back, with Plunk finding Jaden Manley for a 16-yard TD to cut the lead to 26-13, but Dakota Cremeens picked off the two-point conversion pass.
That was with 6:40 to play, and Mount Union never got the ball back. The Purple Raiders attempted an onside kick but were whistled for both offsides and illegal touching. They kicked the bext one out of bounds and the Cardinals ran out the clock, kneeling down at the 7.
Greenfield finished with 31 carries for 190 yards. Lehnen was 8-for-11 passing for 81 yards and two scores, while running for 84 as well. Defensive tackle Cameron Martin had one and a half sacks, while linebacker Storm Simmons had nine total tackles. North Central held the ball for 38:27.
Plunk was 19-for-33 passing for 204 yards and two touchdowns and was sacked three times. He was just 4-for-10 passing on third down.
It was the first loss for Mount Union head coach Geoff Dartt after 17 wins. Dartt took over after the 2019 season.