Opening College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play in grand fashion, the North Central College football team kept Illinois Wesleyan University bottled up from the opening kickoff Saturday evening, departing Tucci Stadium with a 34-7 triumph to remain unbeaten in 2016.
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The ninth-ranked Cardinals (3-0) established a new single-game school record by intercepting six IWU passes. The previous record of five had been accomplished three times, most recently in a 41-24 victory at Elmhurst College on Oct. 13, 2007. North Central limited the Titans to three plays or less on 10 of their 14 possessions and allowed just 151 total yards, the sixth-lowest total ever by a North Central opponent.
The night's first interception came on the game's first drive, as Jeremy Niklos' diving grab halted IWU's progress at its own 41-yard line. The Cardinals' offense was unable to capitalize, but after a punt on the hosts' next possession, quarterback Broc Rutter went a perfect 4 of 4 passing on a six-play, 73-yard drive which ended with his 16-yard touchdown pass to Alex Ulmer. North Central scored on its next two trips down the field as well, getting a 26-yard field goal from Liam Crotty and a two-yard TD run on a direct snap to wideout Dylan Warden to take a 17-0 lead early in the second period. The drive that produced Warden's score was set up by an interception by Tyler Oakley at the North Central 44.
The first-half scoring was capped by the Cardinals' 86-yard, 11-play jaunt which initially appeared to have stalled at the IWU 39-yard line. North Central lined up in punt formation, but punter Zane Lodico instead fired a deep pass intended for Cory Hartema. The pass was incomplete, but the Titans were flagged for pass interference to give the possession new life. Two plays later, Rutter connected with tight end Nolan Brannick on a 20-yard scoring pass to give the guests a 24-0 advantage at the half.
Crotty added a 27-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter's first possession. IWU (2-1) responded with its lone score of the game, picking up nearly half of its yardage total for the night with an 11-play, 75-yard drive and finding the end zone on backup quarterback Brandon Bauer's 10-yard TD pass to Adam Muellers. The Titans' next three possessions resulted in interceptions by Pat Cravens, Kevin Nalefski andBrandon Kibby.
Following a turnover on downs deep in IWU territory, the Cardinals turned in the final score of the game asOshayne Brown scored on a seven-yard run around the left end with 1:30 to play. North Central's record-breaking sixth interception was captured by Bryan Beauchamp on the Titans' final offensive play.
Kibby, Tommy Sora and Emonte Logan led the Cardinals with five tackles each, and Sora added two tackles for loss. Rutter finished the game 19 of 37 passing for 274 yards, while Brown gained 89 yards on 16 rushing attempts and Hartema caught four passes for 62 yards.
The Cardinals host Millikin University next Saturday at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, beginning at 6:00 p.m. The Big Blue (1-1) were idle this week.