While it may not have had the earmarks of a nailbiter early on, the North Central College football team's 2017 season opener quickly became a hearty test of grit and determination, and in the end the Cardinals made just enough big plays to outlast Robert Morris University-Chicago, 33-31, at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
Owning a dominant 26-3 advantage midway through the period, North Central (1-0) saw the Eagles come storming back with four touchdowns in their next five drives before shutting down a two-point conversion attempt and forcing a turnover on downs in the game's final minutes to secure the win.
"I'm really proud of our guys," said North Central head coach Jeff Thorne. "We made our share of first-game mistakes. They were playing their second game of the season tonight, and one thing my father (former North Central head coach John Thorne) has said is that the biggest improvement is from game one to game two. I certainly hope that's the same for us, but Robert Morris has a really good football team."
The Cardinals drew first blood with Liam Crotty's 22-yard field goal at the end of the game's initial possession, but both offenses stalled shortly thereafter as a persistent rain began to fall. Near the end of the first period, a special-teams miscue enabled Robert Morris to take possession at the North Central 26-yard line, but the Eagles wound up turning the ball over on downs. Three plays later, Cardinal quarterback Broc Rutter lofted a pass over the defense and found running back Austin Breunig, who made the catch and sprinted down the left sideline for a 78-yard touchdown.
"We had to be a little bit more careful with the passing game (in the rain), but we really didn't make too many other adjustments," Thorne said. "We thought the storm would last about an hour, and then it would start to dry out, and (Robert Morris) had to deal with it, too."
Crotty tacked on a second 22-yard field goal with 9:41 to play in the second period to extend the hosts' lead to 13-0, and after a failed Robert Morris fake punt attempt, covered 44 yards in seven plays and got a second touchdown from Breunig, This time, the senior took a handoff and headed for the right corner of the end zone, diving across the line to give the Cardinals a 19-0 lead with 3:17 before halftime. The Eagles got on the board just before the break with a 29-yard field goal off the foot of Trentan Dailey.
A 36-yard run up the middle by Breunig set up North Central's third TD, as Dominick Muoghalu covered 13 yards on the next play to yield a 26-3 advantage with 12:11 to go in the third quarter. The Eagles responded with a 12-play, 61-yard drive that ate up more than five minutes and culminated in tailback Darius Burse's eight-yard scoring run. The Cardinals' ensuing drive ended with botched snap on a punt attempt which gave RMU the ball just four yards from the goal line. Quarterback Kenyatte Allen threw a touchdown pass to Michael Berry on the next play, then ran for a two-point conversion, closing the gap to 26-18.
The hosts bounced back with aggressive playcalling, as Rutter connected with Ryan Kuhl on a crossing route for 39 yards on the first play of the next drive, then hit Andrew Kamienski down the middle for 24 yards two plays later. With 2:43 left in the third period, Muoghalu crossed the goal line from one yard out to give the home team some breathing room at 33-18.
The Cardinals forced a punt, but the Robert Morris defense came up big three plays later as Mike Jones picked off a Rutter pass and returned it 28 yards to the North Central 10-yard line. Burse ran the ball three straight times, scoring on third-and-goal from two yards away, leaving the score at 33-25 with 10:48 to play.
North Central was forced to punt on its next drive, and the Eagles took possession on their own 10-yard line. Allen took to the air to get the visitors down the field in a hurry, finding Keith Franklin for a 34-yard gain. Facing third down-and-18 after a quarterback sack by Billy Douds, Allen fired the ball deep to Tristen Jeffries, who made the catch in the end zone with 3:49 on the clock. Once again, the Eagles went for two in an attempt to tie the score, but as Allen looked for running room on the right-hand side he was met by Cardinal cornerback Jelani Hardy, who made the tackle to keep his team in front.
Robert Morris had time for one final drive and needed just one play to move into Cardinal territory as Allen found Franklin for 35 yards. After two incomplete passes, Allen was sacked on third down by DJ Warkenthien, bringing up fourth and 16. Allen once again went deep to the end zone, but Tyler Oakleywas in position and broke up the pass, sealing the Cardinals' fifth straight season-opening victory.
"We really stopped going with the outside pressure toward the end of the game, because they really weren't hitting home," Warkenthien said. "When all was said and done, we got to the quarterback at a time when we really needed it the most. Our defense's mentality is, 'put the fire out.' They came out here hot, and they had the momentum, and we had to shut it down."
North Central barely outgained the Eagles, 372-367, but scored on all five of its red-zone opportunities. Breunig finished with 125 rushing yards on 27 carries while also making three catches for 94 yards. Rutter completed 15 of 28 passes for 282 yards, finding Kuhl five times for a team-high 99 yards. Warkenthien totaled a team-best 10 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss, while Tommy Sora and Justin Stuursma each made eight stops.
Burse gained 116 yards on 22 rushing attempts for Robert Morris. Allen completed 16 of 31 passes for 208 yards, hitting Jeffries seven times for 90 yards. Keyon Lansdown and Philip Hassell were the Eagles' top tacklers with eight apiece.
North Central returns to action Saturday, Sept. 16, hosting Illinois Wesleyan University (1-0) in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) opener for both teams.