Turning away a game effort with a relentless run of second-half play, the North Central College football team made its unbeaten run complete at Shell Energy Stadium Sunday. The Cardinals lifted their third NCAA Division III National Championship trophy in five seasons with a 41-25 defeat of the University of Mount Union (Ohio).
North Central finishes a season with an unblemished 15-0 record for the second time in three years after taking all four second-half possessions to the end zone and coming up with two crucial fourth-quarter defensive stops to put the contest out of reach.
“I’m extremely humbled and proud to be in this position,” said North Central head coach Brad Spencer ‘04. “These seniors – there are 38 of them – have believed in our culture and what we were trying to become. That took a lot of trust and belief, and they went to work. As coaches, we just put good plans in place and put them in a position to succeed.”
Spearheading the Cardinals’ effort on offense for the final time was quarterback Luke Lehnen, who was voted the game’s Most Outstanding Player after accounting for five of the team’s six touchdowns. Lehnen completed 18 of 26 passes for 298 yards and four scores while running for 55 yards and another TD, taking sole possession of the Division III record for touchdown passes (162) and tying the all-divisions record.
The second two-time winner of the Gagliardi Trophy, the premier individual award in Division III football, Lehnen concludes his career as the NCAA’s all-divisions leader in career passing efficiency (211.9) and touchdowns responsible for (213). The previous record for touchdowns was 190.
Mount Union (14-1), which came into the evening seeking a 14th Division III title, recovered a fumble on the game’s opening possession and drove 57 yards to take an early 7-0 lead following Tyler Echeverry’s 24-yard touchdown run. It is the only deficit the Cardinals faced all season.
“When that happened, I just kind of smirked and said, ‘Well, this is a first this year,’” Spencer said. “But we were prepared and the guys handled it well. We felt, going into halftime, that we had some opportunities we hadn’t capitalized on, and we just needed to tighten the screws and be more disciplined.”
North Central responded by tying the score seven plays later, as Lehnen completed a 17-yard pass to Thomas Skokna and hit Jacob Paradee for gains of 11 and 12 yards before locating Myles Walton in the middle of the field for a 24-yard scoring pass, Walton’s seventh of the year.
The Purple Raiders consumed more than six minutes in their next possession and threatened to pull back in front, advancing to the North Central 12-yard line. Mount Union quarterback TJ Deshields lofted a pass to the end zone that fell incomplete, giving the Cardinals the ball on downs. A leaping 38-yard catch by Jack Rummell moved North Central into Raider territory before Lehnen called his own number for a 16-yard touchdown scamper up the middle. The 11-play, 88-yard jaunt gave the Cardinals their first lead at 14-7 with 8:09 left in the first half.
A 30-yard field goal by kicker Ivan Maric enabled Mount Union to narrow the lead to 14-10 on its next trip down the field. With time running down, the Raiders drove to the North Central six-yard line, where Rahmareon Roby broke up two straight passes and Martin Egbo and Danny Nuccio brought down Deshields in bounds on a third-down rushing attempt. Mount Union attempted to bring its field-goal unit onto the field, but were unable to get set before time expired.
The Raiders lined up for another field goal early in the third quarter, but Maric’s 36-yard attempt was wide left. From near midfield, Lehnen threw deep to Thomas Skokna, who shook off tight coverage to make an over-the-shoulder catch for a 46-yard gain that left North Central just a yard from the goal line. On second down, Lehnen threw to Paradee in the left corner of the end zone for a 21-10 advantage with 5:57 to go in the period.
Deshields completed four straight passes on the Raiders’ ensuing possession, including a 31-yard scoring strike to Nick Turner with 3:17 on the clock. Skokna returned the following kickoff 41 yards to the North Central 49, and the Cardinals reached the end zone in seven plays. Enjoying solid protection that yielded ample time to scan for receivers, Lehnen spotted a wide-open Rummell in the end zone for a six-yard TD pass. North Central owned a 28-17 advantage with 14:18 to play.
Just 41 seconds later, however, Deshields threw to Jerry Cooper for a 54-yard touchdown pass, then completing a two-point conversion pass to Drew Sims to close the gap to 28-25 with 13:37 left. Facing third-down-and-one at its own 34, North Central turned to short-yardage specialist Charles Coleman, who found daylight up the middle and left the defense behind for a career-long 66-yard scoring scamper. The extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving the score at 34-25 with 12:41 to play.
North Central forced a Raider punt, which put the ball in the Cardinals’ hands on their own eight-yard line. On fourth-down-and-one at the Mount Union 32, North Central opted to keep its offense on the field. Joe Sacco took a handoff and charged through the middle of the line, powering his way to a five-yard gain that kept the drive alive. A 29-yard pass to Paradee and a roughing-the-passer penalty helped get the Cardinals into the red zone. On third-and-12 at the 12, Paradee went over the middle and collected a pass from Lehnen for his second touchdown reception of the evening. The 92-yard drive consisted of 15 plays and lasted nearly seven minutes.
The Raiders’ final possession advanced to the North Central 36 before a pair of penalties pushed them back across the 50-yard line. On fourth down-and-29, Deshields was sacked by Bobby Medina to ignite the victory celebration.
After gaining just 48 rushing yards in the first half, the Cardinals gained 149 yards on the ground in the second half to own a 197-112 edge, as well as a 495-426 advantage in total yards. North Central scored on all four trips to the red zone while limiting the Raiders to a 1-of-4 effort.
Paradee made a career-high seven catches for 84 yards while Skokna gained 94 yards on three grabs. Coleman’s touchdown run made him the Cardinals’ leading rusher (68) on just two carries, while Brayden Garrigan and Rahmareon Roby led the team in tackles with eight and six, respectively. Kicker Sean Ryniec connected on five extra-point attempts to establish a new Division III single-season record with 106 made extra-point attempts this season.
The victory raises North Central’s overall national championship total to 46 and is the second title won in the current academic year. The Cardinals’ women’s triathlon team won its fifth championship in six seasons in November.
Article redistributed with consent from North Central College.