North Central beats Mount Union for 2nd D-III title
ANNAPOLIS, Md.– Ethan Greenfield, Luke Lehnen and DeAngelo Hardy delivered the huge plays and North Central (Ill.) beat Mount Union 28-21 on Friday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Arena to win the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl and declare the NCAA Division III championship.The Cardinals(15-0)rounded off a best season for rookie coach Brad Spencer.”It boggles the mind,”Spencer stated.
“I’m so happy with my staff and players. I just didn’t wish to mess it up as a first-year coach.”It was North Central’s third journey to the title game
. The Cardinals won it in 2019 and lost last season to Mary Hardin-Baylor– after beating Mount Union 26-13 in the semifinals.The reality that North Central beat 13-time champion Mount Union (14-1 )wasn’t lost on Spencer.”
We’re attempting to be the best,”he specified.” And in order to get there you need to beat the best.
Beating Mount Union is a step in that direction. “The Cardinals grabbed a 7-0 lead on their very first possession of the game. Greenfield carried three times for 16
yards prior to capturing a 34-yard goal pass from Lehnen, who also had a 26-yard work on the drive.Mount Union, playing without hurt running back DeAndre Parker and his 1,254 lawns rushing and 18 goals, struggled on offense.Mount Union faced
a fourth-and-1 at the North Central 46-yard line trailing 7-0 when Purple Raiders coach Geoff Dartt decided not to go all out after enjoying his team rush 9 times for minus-17 yards. Elliott Warner’s punt was downed on the Cardinals ‘6-yard line. On initially down, Lehnen gotten in touch with Hardy for a 94-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead. It was the longest goal in program history for the Cardinals.Mount Union installed an 18-play, 70-yard drive to open the third quarter, taking almost 9 minutes off the clock, however came up empty when the Cardinals stuffed a fourth-and-2 run.Greenfield took a second-down handoff and raced 58
lawns to the Raiders ’26-yard line. The third quarter ended with the Cardinals 4 backyards away from the end zone. Greenfield took a direct breeze on the very first play of the 4th quarter and scooted around the left end for a score and a 21-0 lead.Mount Union answered with Braxton Plunk’s 9-yard touchdown work on a quarterback keeper to get within 21-7 with 9:19 left to play.Mount Union required a three-and-out, and Plunk utilized 9 plays prior to connecting with Wayne Ruby Jr. for a 3-yard touchdown to cut the Raiders ‘deficit to 7
. It was Ruby’s 30th touchdown catch of the season.Lehnen passed to Hardy for a 3-yard goal to put the Cardinals up 28-14 with 1:24 left to play. Lehnen had a 42-yard work on third-and-10 to establish the score.The Raiders scored with 30 seconds staying on Plunk’s 4-yard goal toss to Edwin Reed after connecting with Ruby for a 41-yard gain on the previous play. The onside kick failed.Lehnen completed just 4 of 10 passes, but 3 of them chose ratings. He carried 10 times for 98 lawns. Greenfield, a three-time AP All-America choice, was this season
‘s Gagliardi Trophy winner, given to the top player in Department III.