Championships are sports’ main focus. Yes, enjoy the process, enjoy the games, and find special rewards. Sportsmanship counts and always should be essential, however, the starting point is to earn championships.
Two Division III college football teams, among the eight quarterfinalists remained in the hunt from our sports-minded area in northern Illinois for a national championship prior to last weekend, Aurora University and North Central College in Naperville.
Now there is one of four teams remaining, in the hunt for a championship, North Central, ranked No. 1 in the country among D-III teams. The Cardinals have been in rarified air the last few seasons. Aurora’s Spartans made it to the quarterfinals last weekend for the first time in school history. Aurora head coach, Don Beebe, with playing experience at the National Football League, has developed a winning program in recent seasons and draws an increasing high level of players as a recruiter. It is likely Aurora will maintain a high level that North Central has attained the last few seasons. North Central will play a semifinal game at home game in Naperville at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 against Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas). In order, they are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 nationally. An earlier game will be Mount Union (Ohio) at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. at 11 a.m. and both games will be on ESPN+.
Waverly defeated Aurora, 45-17, Saturday, Dec. 3, and did to Aurora what the Spartans did to many teams this season.
• College of DuPage won the junior college national championship Saturday, Dec. 3 with a 14-12 victory against North Dakota State College of Science.
Defense wins games and DuPage earned the victory with solid defensive play all game. The defense blocked a field goal try and blocked the first conversion kick try by North Dakota State College. Photographer and football fan Steve Groth reported on the game that DuPage led 14-6 when the Dakota entry scored a touchdown. DuPage was penalized on the subsequent extra points try to tie the score, so the ball was moved little more than a yard away from the goal line. The DuPage defense stopped conversion bid and won the game.
• College football bowl prowess includes the University of Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Fla. at 11 a.m. vs. Mississippi State and will be on ESPN2. There will be nine Big Ten Conference teams in bowl games and four teams from the Mid-American Conference. University of Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck played at Kaneland High School and Northern Illinois University in 1990s. He has found coaching success.