North Central Football Back at Home
North Central fans had to wait until Week 3, but Saturday finally brought the home opener for Cardinals Football on a beautiful early fall afternoon. Brad Spencer took charge of his first game as head coach at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium as his team took on the Elmhurst University Blue Jays, who the Cardinals defeated by 70 points at home last year.
Things couldn’t have started better for the Cardinals, as the opening drive ended with a Luke Lehnen rushing touchdown that faked out the entire Elmhurst defense and left him a straight shot to six points.
The offense quickly got the ball back thanks to cornerback Antwain Walker’s first interception as a member of the team after transferring from Northern Illinois, displaying great concentration to secure the catch. A few plays later and Ethan Greenfield was in the end zone. 14-0 Cardinals in the blink of an eye. Terrence Hill soon followed suit, getting himself a short rushing touchdown as the Elmhurst defense offered little resistance.
The next Elmhurst drive offered a rare sight: no, not points for the Blue Jays but an interception by a defensive lineman courtesy of Brandon Greifelt who sticks out a paw and snags the pass from Connor Buyck. More good field position and more points for the offense: it’s Terrence Hill again with an easy score, this one via a pass from Lehnen to make it 28 – 0 still in the first quarter.
Second Quarter and Second Half = More Cardinals Points
Lehnen opened the second quarter scoring with another touchdown pass, this one finding leading receiver DeAngelo Hardy who had plenty of separation and room to get his feet down in bounds. Ethan Greenfield then got his customary second rushing touchdown to stretch the lead to 41, before Nic Rummell received a gift from Buyck: the easiest interception he will ever get, with six points on the end of it to boot. The pick-six put the Cardinals up 48 – 0. Next drive for Elmhurst, same result, another interception this time for Jahron Williams. Another similar outcome: Lehnen to Hardy for another Cardinals touchdown. At halftime, North Central led by 55.
The second half featured mostly reserve players for the Cardinals, including running back Joe Sacco who broke out multiple stiff-arms on this run before eventually finding his way to the end zone.
The defense still had plays to make as well, as Nic Laird snags an interception to set up more good field position. The Cardinals once again cash in, as Jordan Chisum gets his name on the board with a five-yard touchdown run to run the point total to 69.
One more interception: Jahmar Daniel this time picks off the pass, the sixth of the day for the Cardinals defense. And one more touchdown via quarterback Jake Johnson, who puts the Cardinals up 76-0 by jumping over the pylon.
Elmhurst would score on their final drive of the game, but it’s another 70-point win for the Cardinals in a battle of the birds.
