2019 North Central Cardinals football team

The 2019 North Central Cardinals football team was an American football team that represented North Central College in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) during the 2019 NCAA Division III football season. The team played its home games at Benedetti–Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, Illinois.

In their fifth year under head coach Jeff Thorne, the team compiled a 14–1 record (8–1 against conference opponents) and finished second out of ten teams in the CCIW. The team advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs and defeated , 41–14, in the 2019 Stagg Bowl.

Senior quarterback Broc Rutter won the Gagliardi Trophy, awarded to the best player in NCAA Division III. Rutter finished just three votes ahead of Jackson Erdmann, the closest vote in the history of the award.

Preseason The CCIW released it preseason coaches' prediction poll on August 8, 2019. The Cardinals were picked to win the conference and received seven of the ten first place votes.

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries At Christopher Newport

Statistics NCCCNU First downs 27 13 Total yards 508 212 Rushing yards 139 10 Passing yards 369 202 Turnovers 0 3 Time of possession 35:47 24:13 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 27/36, 369 yards, 3 TD Rushing Ethan Greenfield 13 rushes, 97 yards, TD Receiving Andrew Kamienski 9 receptions, 103 yardsChristopher Newport Passing Jack Anderson 17/27, 202 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Adam Luncher 3 rushes, 24 yards Receiving Garrison Mayo 3 receptions, 95 yards, TD

At No. 24 Washington (MO)

Statistics NCCWASHU First downs 33 18 Total yards 640 311 Rushing yards 242 60 Passing yards 398 251 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 34:47 25:13 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 34/45, 398 yards, 5 TD, INT Rushing Ethan Greenfield 13 rushes, 118 yards Receiving Andrew Kamienski 15 receptions, 181 yards, 2 TDWashington (MO) Passing Johnny Davidson 24/42, 226 yards, INT Rushing John Fisher 10 rushes, 35 yards Receiving Tim Matthiessen 7 receptions, 52 yards

North Park

Statistics NPUNCC First downs 8 24 Total yards 117 685 Rushing yards 22 306 Passing yards 95 379 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 32:26 27:34 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Park Passing Grant Borsch 14/29, 87 yards, INT Rushing A. J. Harris 13 rushes, 17 yards Receiving Malik Powell 4 receptions, 38 yardsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 16/17, 334 yards, 4 TD Rushing Rafael Rios 11 rushes, 98 yards Receiving Andrew Kamienski 4 receptions, 137 yards, 2 TD

At No. 9 Wheaton (IL)

Statistics NCCWHEAT First downs 22 20 Total yards 398 447 Rushing yards 85 96 Passing yards 313 351 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 30:57 29:03 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 27/45, 313 yards, 2 TD Rushing Ethan Greenfield 29 rushes, 111 yards, TD Receiving Blake Williams 6 receptions, 158 yards, TDWheaton Passing Luke Anthony 21/30, 351 yards, 5 TD Rushing T. J. Williams 23 rushes, 94 yards Receiving Phillip Nichols 10 receptions, 207 yards, 3 TD

Augustana (IL)

Statistics AUGIENCC First downs 14 24 Total yards 297 443 Rushing yards 160 145 Passing yards 137 298 Turnovers 3 2 Time of possession 26:27 33:33 Team Category Player StatisticsAugustana (IL) Passing Zachary Fuller 7/19, 89 yards, TD Rushing Bobby Jarosz 19 rushes, 67 yards Receiving Tom Dolis 2 receptions, 55 yards, TDNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 25/37, 291 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Ethan Greenfield 27 rushes, 138 yards, 3 TD Receiving Andrew Kamienski 11 receptions, 135 yards, 3 TD

At Carroll (WI)

Statistics NCCCUWI First downs 29 8 Total yards 602 214 Rushing yards 307 18 Passing yards 295 196 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 25:19 34:41 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 14/22, 256 yards, 4 TD Rushing Ethan Greenfield 9 rushes, 137 yards, 2 TD Receiving Andrew Kamienski 8 receptions, 167 yards, 3 TDCarroll Passing Michael Johnson 15/24, 196 yards, INT Rushing Michael Johnson 7 rushes, 17 yards Receiving David Meza 6 receptions, 102 yards

Carthage

Statistics CARNCC First downs 15 29 Total yards 172 614 Rushing yards 114 306 Passing yards 58 308 Turnovers 1 3 Time of possession 31:55 28:05 Team Category Player StatisticsCarthage Passing Billy Dury 5/17, 49 yards Rushing Dana Fontenot 18 rushes, 39 yards Receiving Jovone Stricker 3 receptions, 32 yardsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 18/22, 308 yards, 5 TD Rushing Ethan Greenfield 13 rushes, 208 yards, 2 TD Receiving Blake Williams 7 receptions, 129 yards, TD

At Elmhurst

Statistics NCCELM First downs 28 9 Total yards 678 136 Rushing yards 296 74 Passing yards 382 62 Turnovers 0 3 Time of possession 30:48 29:12 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 23/28, 277 yards, 6 TD Rushing Ethan Greenfield 17 rushes, 182 yards, 2 TD Receiving Jarrett Crider 2 receptions, 77 yards, TDElmhurst Passing Jake Tahaney 9/23, 57 yards, TD, INT Rushing Jake Tahaney 5 rushes, 49 yards Receiving Ben Fridrich 4 receptions, 35 yards, TD

Illinois Wesleyan

Statistics IWUNCC First downs 12 21 Total yards 227 622 Rushing yards 49 306 Passing yards 178 316 Turnovers 3 0 Time of possession 30:54 29:06 Team Category Player StatisticsIllinois Wesleyan Passing Johnny Dicanio 14/32, 178 yards, TD, INT Rushing Johnny Dicanio 11 rushes, 30 yards Receiving Wesley Watson 4 receptions, 97 yardsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 12/19, 281 yards, 6 TD Rushing Ethan Greenfield 15 rushes, 94 yards, 2 TD Receiving Andrew Kamienski 7 receptions, 155 yards, 4 TD

At Millikin

Statistics NCCMILL First downs 20 20 Total yards 506 324 Rushing yards 213 203 Passing yards 293 121 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 22:16 37:44 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 17/24, 293 yards, 3 TD Rushing Ethan Greenfield 14 rushes, 199 yards, 3 TD Receiving Andrew Kamienski 7 receptions, 182 yards, 2 TDMillikin Passing Cal Pohrte 15/31, 121 yards, 3 TD Rushing Richard Cosey 26 rushes, 152 yards, TD Receiving Jordan Smith 6 receptions, 52 yards, TD

Wabash (NCAA Division III First Round)

Statistics WABNCC First downs 18 31 Total yards 352 588 Rushing yards 138 358 Passing yards 214 230 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 30:56 29:04 Team Category Player StatisticsWabash Passing Liam Thompson 14/29, 180 yards, TD, INT Rushing Isaac Avant 16 rushes, 84 yards Receiving Nick Hamman 5 receptions, 74 yards, TDNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 17/19, 230 yards, TD Rushing Ethan Greenfield 29 rushes, 301 yards, 5 TD Receiving Andrew Kamienski 9 receptions, 163 yards, TD

At No. 2 Mount Union (NCAA Division III Second Round)

Statistics NCCMTU First downs 27 26 Total yards 699 698 Rushing yards 177 149 Passing yards 522 549 Turnovers 1 3 Time of possession 35:01 24:59 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Central Passing Brock Rutter 22/36, 522 yards, 5 TD, INT Rushing Ethan Greenfield 27 rushes, 130 yards, 2 TD Receiving Andrew Kamienski 12 receptions, 256 yards, 4 TDMount Union Passing D'Angelo Fulford 23/34, 549 yards, 4 TD, INT Rushing D'Angelo Fulford 21 rushes, 124 yards, 2 TD Receiving Justin Hill 7 receptions, 221 yards, TD

No. 9 Delaware Valley (NCAA Division III Quarterfinal)

Statistics DVUNCC First downs 16 24 Total yards 324 365 Rushing yards 92 102 Passing yards 232 263 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 25:51 34:09 Team Category Player StatisticsDelaware Valley Passing Anthony Fontana 21/36, 232 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Donte Simmons 10 rushes, 71 yards Receiving Dan Allen 6 receptions, 155 yards, TDNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 23/33, 263 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Ethan Greenfield 28 rushes, 93 yards, 2 TD Receiving DeAngelo Hardy 9 receptions, 132 yards, TD

At No. 4 Muhlenberg (NCAA Division III Semifinal)

Statistics NCCMUHL First downs 27 16 Total yards 486 362 Rushing yards 293 69 Passing yards 193 293 Turnovers 1 3 Time of possession 34:37 25:23 Team Category Player StatisticsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 16/25, 193 yards, 5 TD, INT Rushing Ethan Greenfield 21 rushes, 199 yards Receiving Andrew Kamienski 11 receptions, 112 yards, 4 TDMuhlenberg Passing Mike Hnatkowsky 23/41, 277 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing James Diggs 9 rushes, 62 yards, TD Receiving Ryan Curtiss 5 receptions, 98 yards, TD

Vs. No. 7 Wisconsin–Whitewater (Stagg Bowl)

Statistics UWWNCC First downs 19 22 Total yards 390 436 Rushing yards 207 173 Passing yards 183 263 Turnovers 2 0 Time of possession 29:50 30:10 Team Category Player StatisticsWisconsin–Whitewater Passing Max Meylor 25/42, 183 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Max Meylor 15 rushes, 104 yards Receiving Tyler Holte 6 receptions, 64 yardsNorth Central Passing Broc Rutter 18/27, 263 yards, 2 TD Rushing Ethan Greenfield 27 rushes, 138 yards, 3 TD Receiving Andrew Kamienski 9 receptions, 134 yards, TD

Personnel

Players

1 Julian Bell DB 5-7 146 So. Oswego, Ill. / Oswego Waubonsee CC 1 Khori Blair WR 6-1 179 Jr. Oak Park, Ill. / Oak Park-River Forest 2 Zach Greenberg DB 6-1 196 Sr. Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley 3 Zach Butler DB 5-9 196 Jr. Kingston, Ill. / Genoa-Kingston 3 Tommy Coates WR 6-3 183 Fr. Chicago, Ill. / De La Salle 3 Daniel Slaughter LB 5-9 212 Fr. Palm Harbor, Fla. / East Lake 4 Dakota Cremeens DB 5-8 180 Jr. Bloomington, Ill. / Normal Community 4 Matt Metz WR 6-1 184 Jr. Morton Grove, Ill. / Niles West 5 De'Angelo Roberson DB 5-10 174 Jr. Mount Prospect, Ill. / Wisconsin-Eau Claire 6 Michael Baumgardner LB 5-7 191 So. Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley 6 DeAngelo Hardy WR 6-1 190 Fr. Lake Villa, Ill. / Lakes 7 Bryan Beauchamp LB 6-0 221 Sr. Fairland, Ind. / Triton Central 7 Arek Kleniuk QB 6-0 164 Fr. Mount Prospect, Ill. / Rolling Meadows 8 Ethan Greenfield RB 5-9 195 So. Lindenhurst, Ill. / Lakes 8 Sean Jacobs LB 5-8 200 Fr. Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Buffalo Grove 9 Tommy Hyland DL 6-4 261 Jr. Lombard, Ill. / Montini Catholic Northwest Missouri State 9 Broc Rutter QB 6-2 204 Sr. Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley Indiana State 10 Talha Ayhan DL 5-10 222 Jr. Wheaton, Ill. / Glenbard South 11 Andrew Kamienski WR 6-0 181 Jr. Pingree Grove, Ill. / South Elgin 11 Tim Mayerhofer DB 6-0 183 Jr. Romeoville, Ill. / Plainfield East 12 Jake Johnson QB 6-1 187 Fr. Lake Villa, Ill. / Lakes 13 Cole Griffin DB 5-11 205 So. Tinley Park, Ill. / Andrew 13 Kevin Polaski QB 5-11 148 Fr. Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Conant 14 Sam Taviani DB 6-0 181 So. Downers Grove, Ill. / Downers Grove North 15 Jodeci Chappa WR 6-0 156 Fr. Immokalee, Fla. / Immokalee 16 Alec Wolff DB 6-3 190 So. Lombard, Ill. / Glenbard East 17 Eddie Villalobos RB 5-5 150 Fr. Rochelle, Ill. / Rochelle Twp. 17 Zach Witken DB 5-9 199 Sr. Riverside, Ill. / Riverside-Brookfield 18 Blake Williams WR 6-4 186 Jr. Aurora, Ill. / Metea Valley 19 Rob Simental QB 6-1 191 Fr. Chicago, Ill. / De La Salle 20 Ronin Gilbert RB 5-9 178 Fr. Tinley Park, Ill. / Tinley Park 20 Jared Hornbeck WR 6-0 181 So. Hampshire, Ill. / Hampshire Robert Morris 21 Jake Beesley DB 6-4 196 Jr. Champaign, Ill. / Champaign Central 22 Zach Garrett RB 5-8 196 Sr. Batavia, Ill. / Batavia 22 Daniel Morales DB 5-9 153 Fr. Whiting, Ind. / Mount Carmel 23 Darius Cook DB 5-8 177 Sr. Chicago, Ill. / Lindblom Academy 23 Conner Rush DB 5-10 150 Fr. Pekin, Ill. / Pekin 24 Armando Varela RB 5-7 169 Sr. San Ysidro, Calif. / San Ysidro Southwestern 25 Braden Lindmark DB 6-3 188 So. Naperville, Ill. / Naperville Central 26 Rafael Rios RB 5-9 180 Fr. Highland, Ind. / Highland 27 Javon Lee DB 5-9 146 Fr. Glenwood, Ill. / Homewood-Flossmoor 28 Austin Ioerger RB 5-8 191 Fr. Metamora, Ill. / Metamora 28 Zach Weiss DB 5-11 164 Fr. Bolingbrook, Ill. / Neuqua Valley 29 Trevor Tesmond DB 5-11 179 So. Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley 30 Payton Voitik DB 6-2 189 Fr. Morris, Ill. / Morris Valparaiso 31 Garrett Fiduccia DB 6-0 185 So. Aurora, Ill. / Oswego East 31 Logan Graham LB 5-11 201 Fr. Dwight, Ill. / Dwight Twp. 32 John Daway LB 5-11 201 Fr. Tampa, Fla. / Blake 33 Ben Wong LB 6-0 215 Jr. Bloomington, Ill. / Normal Community