Nov 15, 2014
So much looked to be against the North Central College football team Saturday at Langhorst Field, but the Cardinals called upon the lessons learned from head coach John Thorne and persevered before emerging with a 38-31 victory over Elmhurst College in Thorne's final regular-season game as head coach.
The 18th-ranked Cardinals were outgained in total yardage, 507-375, faced more than a 10-minute disadvantage in time of possesion, trailed, 17-3, midway through the second quarter and did not take the lead until late in the third period, but turned in a series of clutch plays late in the game to post their third straight win and their 16th consecutive victory over the Bluejays.
"It wasn't easy," Thorne said. "I thought Elmhurst had a great game plan and they executed really well. It's been a lot of fun to be in the CCIW. It was a big battle when we first came here to see what we could do, so it's been really fun to see the players and assistant coaches do so many great things, especially the last 10 years."
Having been forced to play catch-up most of the day, North Central (8-2, 6-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) tied the score on two occasions in the third quarter before getting an extra possession when Justin Stuursmaintercepted a pass which had been deflected at the line of scrimmage by Brian Wilson. Taking possession at the Elmhurst 13-yard line, the Cardinals scored four plays later on a two-yard touchdown run by Oshayne Brown.
The Bluejays (5-5, 4-3 CCIW) responded with a seven-play, 71-yard drive and tied the score on quarterback Joe Camiliere's 10-yard TD run with 6:08 to play. North Central reached midfield on the ensuing possession before Dylan Warden was sacked for a nine-yard loss at the Cardinals' 41-yard line.
Facing third down-and-18, North Central dug into its arsenal of gadget plays and handed off to wide receiver Peter Sorenson on a reverse. Sorenson, the Cardinals' all-time leader in touchdown receptions, uncorked a 42-yard pass to tight end Nolan Brannick for a first down at the Elmhurst 17-yard line. Matt Randolph scored on a 13-yard run two plays later, nudging North Central back in front, 38-31, with 2:12 to play.
"(Offensive coordinator Jeff Thorne) said that play's been coming for two years," Sorenson said. "It worked out well, and Nolan made a great catch. The line did a good job keeping their guys clear for a while, and I saw Nolan open and put it up. It was so much fun in that moment to make that kind of play.
"Elmhurst battled the entire way, but we didn't give up. It really showed what these guys are made of. We played with a lot of heart, and coach Thorne preaches heart and fighting and not giving up. It was awesome."
The Bluejays opened their final drive with a 44-yard pass from Camiliere to Adam Bowers, and the hosts drove to the North Central 14-yard line. On third down-and-10, Camiliere fired a pass for a would-be touchdown before John Skokna, in his third week at cornerback after moving from wide receiver, intercepted the pass in the end zone. Randolph ran for 40 yards on the next play from scrimmage, enabling the Cardinals to run out the clock.
"I didn't make the play on the big pass before that, and that was on me," Skokna said. "I knew I had to make up for it, so luckily I did. We had our ups and downs and we fought hard and came away the win. It's been tough trying to learn more and more every day, but it's been a lot of fun. (Defensive backs) Coach (Adam Pucylowski) and (defensive coordinator Mike) Murray have been great and have coached me up pretty well."
"You've got to play your fastest players," Thorne said. "I'm so happy that we made the move and that he picked it up so fast. That's really hard to do, and that was a fantastic interception."
Oshayne Brown hit the 100-yard rushing mark for the fourth straight game for the Cardinals, gaining 103 yards and scoring two touchdowns on 16 carries, while Randolph gained 80 yards on nine attempts. Warden completed 6 of 14 passes for 82 yards and two TDs while running for 69 yards on 15 carries. Sorenson caught three passes for 44 yards and a score and Richard Zirngibl and Peter Mann led the defense with seven tackles each.
"I'm so excited that Matt made those plays," Thorne said. "That should be a huge confidence booster for him. On that last run, he made sure to stay in bounds so the clock kept running, and he broke it even though they knew we were going to run it."
Camiliere completed 20 of 32 passes for 294 yards and ran for 93 yards and two TDs on 20 carries. Josh Williams ran for 101 yards and two scores on 19 attempts and Garrett Claxon caught 10 passes for 92 yards. Brian Tucker made a team-high eight tackles for Elmhurst.
The announcement of the competitive field for the 2014 NCAA Division III Football Championship will be at 6 p.m. Eastern time Sunday at ncaa.com.