Season Recap

With their victory over Elmhurst College by the score of 49-24, the North Central football team concluded its 2009 campaign on November 14th. With the victory, the Cardinals took home a share of the CCIW crown as co-champions with Illinois Wesleyan University. This CCIW title gave the Cardinals their forth consecutive title, something that has only been achieved twice before in the history of the CCIW. Despite being ranked in the top 20 in two final season polls, the Cardinals were left out of playoff contention by the NCAA.

The season itself was marked by a number of outstanding individual performances by a number of Cardinals. Senior quarterback Aaron Fanthorpe led the Cardinal offense with his outstanding play for the third year straight. Due to his and the rest of the offenses efforts, North Central was the highest scoring college football team in America this past season with an average of 49 points per game. During his career, Fanthorpe managed to climb high in the North Central record books in every passing category and finished with the highest career completion percentage in school history (60%). Last week, Aaron was named the Art Keller Offensive Player of the Year in the CCIW. This is his third time winning the award and he stands as the only player in the 63 year history of the conference to do so. In all, twelve Cardinals received All-CCIW honors. These players are:

Offense
Aaron Fanthorpe, SR, QB, First Team, CCIW OPOY
Butch Rossberg, SR, RB, First Team
Kyle Fiedorowicz, JR, TE, First Team
Steve Hlavac, JR, WR, First Team
Josh Delancy, SR, OL, First Team
Kyle Antos, JR, OL, First Team
Hank Johnston, SR, WR, Second Team
Zach Baldacci, SR, OL, Second Team

Defense
Joe Schneiderbauer, JR, LB, First Team
Josh McLeod, SO, DB, First Team
Robert Champion, JR, DL, First Team
Tim Janecek, SR, DL, Second Team

The Cardinals' nine First Team selections were the most in the conference this season and the largest haul in the history of the North Central program, topping the 2007 squad's eight First Team honorees. Congratulations to all of these players and to the entire team for their hard work and success this past season.

The team would also like to thank all of the fans, staff and faculty of North Central College for their continued support throughout the season. It was always comforting to know that whether the Cardinals played at home or on the road, the fans provided a great atmosphere that felt like a home field advantage. Please continue your support for the team as it looks to improve during the off season and the 2010 season.

Schneiderbauer Honored

North Central linebacker Joe Schneiderbauer was honored as a CCIW Defensive Player of the Week for his performance this past Saturday as the Cardinals defeated Augustana College 45-26. The junior from Sterling, Illinois recorded 11 total tackles with three of those tackles coming for a loss. Schneiderbauer is the first North Central Cardinal football player to win the defensvie player of the week honor for the CCIW this season. Congratulations to Joe!

Cardinals Bounce Back

After a disappointing loss at Illinois Wesleyan, the North Central Cardinals responded with a 45-26 victory over Augustana College this past Saturday in Rock Island, Illinois. Trailing 6-0 after the first quarter, the Cards ripped off twenty four points in the second quarter to take a 24-20 lead into the locker room for halftime. The Cardinals would never relinquish that lead as they would score another twenty one points in the second half of the game.

Senior quarterback Aaron Fanthorpe turned out his best passing performance of the season completing 19-24 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns, which included a forty six yard touchdown strike to receiver Steve Hlavac right before the halftime horn sounded.

On the ground the Cardinals were again led with an impressive performance from senior running back Butch Rossberg who earned every one of his 113 yards. On the day Rossberg averaged just over seven yards a carry and found the end zone on a fourteen yard scamper in the second quarter.

Leading the Cardinals aerial assault was Hlavac, who gave the Vikings secondary nightmares all afternoon. The junior wide receiver finished the day with seven catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively the Cardinals were led by junior linebacker Joe Schneiderbauer who posted eleven tackles, three of which were for a loss of yards. Sophomore defensive back Josh McLeod provided a key interception for the Cardinals in the second quarter that helped jump start the Cardinal offense.

The victory puts the Cardinals at 7-2 for the 2009 season. Ranked 16th in the nation by the latest D3Football.com poll, the Cardinals will look to finish the regular season 8-2 when the Elmhurst College Bluejays roll into town this Saturday. This last home game of the regular season and senior appreciation day is set for a 1 PM start. On Saturday the Cardinals will attempt to capture their forth consecutive CCIW Conference Championship.

JV Cardinals End Season on a High Note

The North Central JV football team completed their season on Sunday with a 35-14 victory over St. Ambrose University (IA). With the victory, the JV team ended their season with a 6-2 record, with both losses coming by only three points. Congratulations to the JV football team for compiling the best JV record in North Central College history.