Thunder Silenced!

The Cardinals took sole possession of first place in the CCIW with their 27-7 victory over 3rd ranked Wheaton College on Saturday. In the annual "Battle for the Little Brass Bell" North Central ripped off twenty unanswered points in the second half to break the 7-7 tie at halftime. While the offense managed to produce 484 yards, it was the defense that turned out their best effort of the season, holding the potent Thunder offense to only seven points and 206 yards.

Senior quarterback Aaron Fanthorpe connected on 16 of his 28 passes for 218 yards and four touchdowns. Fanthorpe also led the Cardinals in rushing with 88 yards on twelve carries that included a 34 yard scamper down the sideline that led to the final Cardinal score which all but sealed the victory.

Junior Steve Hlavac led the Cardinals in receiving for the second straight week with seven grabs for 67 yards and one touchdown. Junior tight end Kyle Fiedorowicz also chipped in with three catches for 39 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Nick Hicks served as a triple threat and kept the Thunder on their heels all afternoon. Hicks finished the day with 69 yards rushing, 58 yards receiving and 20 yards passing. He found the endzone on a fifteen yard catch late in the 3rd quarter.

In the absence of All-CCIW runningback Dominic Sulo, senior Pat Malek served as the teams primary back and contributed 66 yards on eleven carries and had one catch for twenty yards.

Defensively, the Cardinals were led by sophomore safety Josh McLeod, who totaled nine tackles and three pass breakups. Sophomore Willie Hayes continued his stellar play and totaled eight stops, which included a punishing hit in the backfield on 4th and goal, halting the Thunder's opportunity to score. As a unit, the defense totaled six sacks of the Thunder quarterback and picked him off twice.

With the victory Saturday, the Cardinals climbed into the top ten in the national rankings. D3Football.com ranked the Cardinals 9th, their highest since falling from 3rd after the Ohio Northern loss. This Saturday, the Cardinals will travel to Bloomington, Illinois to take on the Titans of Illinois Wesleyan University. The Titans boast one of the top defenses in the nation and are currently 6-1. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 PM.