Spencer to Coach All-Star Team

Cardinal receivers coach Brad Spencer was picked to be one of eight coaches for a Division III All-Star game in Mexico this December. The 2009 Tazon de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars) will take place on Dec. 19 in Monterrey, Mexico and is sponsored by Global Football.

Spencer will assist coaching Team Stars and Stripes, which will consist of over 50 of the top Division III football players in America. The Stars in Stripes will take on Tec de Monterrey University at the Tec Monterrey Campus Estado de Mexico. Tec Monterrey is the premier private university system in Mexico, with campuses in numerous locations around the country. Tec teams have captured eight of the past ten Liga Major football national championships.

This will be Brad Spencers forth time coaching a football team outside of the United States. Previously, Spencer has coached the North Central Cardinals against European competition on three separate occasions. In 2006 the team traveled to Italy and faced the Trieste Mustangs. In 2008 Spencer served as the Head Coach for the Midwest All-Stars. This team, which traveled to Ireland and took on the Dublin Rebels, consisted primarily of North Central College alumni. Finally, this past summer, Spencer and the Cardinals again traveled to Europe and faced the Landquart Broncos out of Switzerland. With a perfect 3-0 record against foreign competition, the Cardinal football program wishes Brad Spencer the best of luck in Mexico.

Offensive Explosion!

This past weekend found the Cardinals on the winning end of two games once again, each with explosive offense and sturdy defense.

On Saturday North Central played host to Olivet College (Michigan) and amassed over 600 yards of offense for a total of 69 points. Senior running back Dominic Sulo eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the third straight game rushing for 127 yards, and found the end zone three times, giving him a total of nine touchdowns in three games. Senior backs Pat Malek and Butch Rossberg also contributed greatly to the ground effort with Malek earning 96 yards and Rossberg gaining 52 yards. Both backs found the end zone, with Malek scoring on a 65 yard scamper. In all, the Cards carried the ball 44 times for 342 yards and seven scores.

In the passing game, senior quarterback Aaron Fanthorpe had another precise performance completing fourteen of sixteen throws for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Junior tight end Jeff Grunwald caught both scores.

Defensively, the Cards were led by sophomore linebacker Willie Hayes for the second straight week with seven tackles. Freshman linebacker Joey Michals contributed six tackles. In all, the defense allowed only 234 yards on 60 plays and surrendered a mere 18 points.

On Sunday, the JV Cardinals traveled to Carthage College (Wisconsin) and defeated the Red Men 34-13. This gave the Cardinals a total of 103 points for the second consecutive week, while both defenses gave up a combined 31 points.

This Saturday the Cardinals will travel to Decatur to face a tough Millikin University team who is 3-0 on the season. This will open the Cardinals 2009 CCIW schedule.

Season Update

After a disappointing loss to Ohio Northern on September 5th, the Cards looked to get their season back on track with a win against the Eagles of Benedictine University this past Saturday. The Cardinals dominated the game in all phases and posted a 55-0 shutout to bring their season record to 1-1. Senior quarterback Aaron Fanthorpe dissected the Eagles secondary with a 15 for 19 passing performance that resulted in 245 yards and two touchdowns.

The ground game churned out an impressive 304 yards at eight yards a carry. Two senior running backs, Dom Sulo and Butch Rossberg, eclipsed the 100 yard mark with Sulo gaining 104 yards and Rossberg gaining 137. Sulo found the end zone three times and Rossberg once on a ninety six yard scamper which set a North Central College record as the longest play from scrimmage in school history.

In the absence of All-American Matt Wenger, the defense was led by sophomore linebacker Willie Hayes who posted nine tackles, two of which were for a loss of yards.

An equally impressive outing came this Sunday afternoon with the Cardinal Freshman/JV team notching a 48-26 victory over Elmhurst College. In all, the Cardinals managed 103 points on offense this weekend, while the defense surrendered only twenty six.

For his efforts Saturday, quarterback Aaron Fanthorpe earned CCIW co-offensive player of the week honors. The Cardinals climbed their way back to 12th in the D3football.com rankings this week after dropping from 4th to 15th due to the loss in Ohio. With a bye this weekend, the Cardinals look to use the extra practice time to prepare themselves for Olivet College (Michigan) on September 26th and the start of their CCIW schedule.

Kickoff Around the Corner!

With the completion of their 2009 camp earlier this week, the North Central College football team finally gets their regular season underway this Saturday against the Ohio Northern Polar Bears. The kickoff is set for 1:30pm (EST) in Ada, Ohio.

With a strong turnout this fall, the Cards look to open their season while maintaining a roster of over 130 players. The 2009 camp saw the Cards remain healthy on all fronts and ready to compete during their long season. With the team 100% the Cardinals are focused on having a strong showing throughout the course of their season in both non-conference and CCIW play.

This years camp was highlighted by a number of activities over the course of two long and grueling weeks. Among these was yet another team organized trip to Feed My Starving Children in Aurora, where the Cards packed enough food to feed over a hundred hungry children for a year. Camp culiminated in a scrimmage against Harper Junior College where the team looked strong in all facets of the game.

The team and coaching staff extends its sincere gratitude to all the faculty and staff of North Central College who helped to make this years camp a success. We would not have success on the field if it wasn't for the wonderful support that the college provides.

With the season only two days away, the Cardinals look to make North Central College and the city of Naperville proud of their efforts on and off the field.