National champion!
Two words roll easily. It was the goal, the objective.
North Central College won its second Division III college football national championship Friday, Dec. 16 at the Naval/Marine College in Annapolis, Md. home of the Navy which plays Army the second Saturday in December each year.
North Central defeated the University of Mount Union, 28-21, in the championship game. Elite. Tradition. Excellence. Those adjectives surround Mount Union historically with victories since the turn of the century. See photos on pages 1 and 9.
North Central College in Naperville has made its move to adopt excellence. The last three playoffs held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, North Central has participated in the national championship games. North Central won the national championship in 2019, there were no playoffs because of COVID-19 in 2020, North Central played in the national championship in 2021 and fell to Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas). The climb to excellence of play has been steady climb for more than the last 20 years. There are three divisions in college football, based on enrollment and awarding of athletic scholarships. Division I is the top tier, such as Illinois and Notre Dame involved in bowl games. Division II is middle-sized schools in enrollment and Division III, the smallest such enrollments mostly of 5,000 or less, however, the strict determination for D-III schools is they do not offer athletic scholarships. There is a bit more genuine fun and less pressure.
North Central defeated Mary Hardin-Baylor this year in a semifinal game, 49-14. Mary Hardin-Baylor defeated North Central in the 2021 championship game, 57-24. Mount Union has been the most dominant school since 2000 with 18 times in the championship game and nine times as the champion. Wisconsin-Whitewater has won six championships since 2000 and was runner-up four times.
Just to focus on this season, North Central has used many players from northern Illinois to perform at a championship level. Senior running back Ethan Greenfield has performed well and taken advantage of excellent blocking. He is 5-9 and 213 pounds from Lakes High School in McHenry County. Wide receiver DeAngelo Hardy is from Lakes High School, sophomore quarterback Luke Lehnen is from Chatham and Glenwood High School in Chicago’s southern suburbs. Other places represented on the North Central roster: Naperville, Carol Stream, Bolingbrook, Geneva, Aurora, Bartlett, Oswego, Plainfield, Carpentersville, Glen Ellyn, Elgin, Sugar Grove, Batavia, Hinsdale.
• High School holiday basketball tournament time is at hand for boys and girls and there are a limited number of wresting meets. Good competition, tradition, and communities should be interested in supporting the tournaments. The East Aurora Holiday Tournament is in its 56th annual year for three days, December 27-29, and each days sessions will begin at 1 p.m. with the championship game Thursday, Dec. 29. West Aurora returns to the prestigious Pontiac Tournament, December 28-30. There are many other solid tournaments, including at Plano, York in Elmhurst, Hinsdale Central, Jacobs, and DeKalb.