On an emotional day at Illinois Wesleyan University's Tucci Stadium, the North Central College football team turned away a spirited effort by the Titans and used its strength to seal up a 42-20 victory in its regular-season finale Saturday.

Taking the field for the final time under retiring 38-year veteran head coach Norm Eash, the Titans (5-5, 5-4 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) passed for 301 yards and trailed by just a 28-20 count heading into the fourth quarter. North Central delivered two touchdowns and two stops on fourth down in the final period to close out its fourth straight unbeaten regular season.

Establishing two more career records was Cardinal quarterback Luke Lehnen, who completed 10 of 16 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a game-high 127 yards and a score. Lehnen establishes a new NCAA Division III record for career total offensive yards (14,686) and a new CCIW record for career total offensive yards in conference play (10,160). 

As they have all season long, the Cardinals got on the scoreboard first. Joe Sacco ran the ball on five of the team's first seven plays before Lehnen found Jake Lynch open down the left sideline fo a 30-yard touchdown pass, connecting for a score for the second straight game. IWU jumpstarted its first drive with a 30-yard completion from Dermot Smyth to Jimmy Deacy, then tied the score at 7-7 on Smyth's four-yard swing pass to Jahari Scott.

The teams traded punts before North Central took possession near midfield with 1:49 left in the first quarter. Running for the final six plays of an eight-play drive, the Cardinals moved back in front, 14-7, on Charles Coleman's one-yard touchdown plunge with 12:41 left in the second period. The lead grew to 21-7 with 2:07 on the clock, when Lehnen launched a deep pass to Thomas Skokna for a 51-yard scoring completion. 

Taking possession with 44 seconds before halftime, the Titans were able to complete a trio of passes before narrowing the gap to 21-13 on Smyth's 11-yard touchdown toss to Myles Kee. The hosts had the ball to start the second half, but Bobby Medina broke up a third-down pass at the North Central 47-yard line to force a punt. 

The ensuing kick gave the Cardinals the ball at their own 10-yard line, and a false start penalty pushed them back five more yards. On the next play, Lehnen rendered the penalty moot as he put the entire defense off balance with a fake handoff and ran untouched down the left sideline, 95 yards across the goal line. The career-long run for Lehnen is the second-longest in North Central's history and the sixth-longest by any Division III player this season. The Cardinals owned a 28-13 advantage with 12:22 to go in the third period.

Smyth completed 4 of 6 passes in moving IWU down the field on its next possession, finding Kee for a three-yard TD pass on fourth down. The Titans forced a North Central punt and took the ball at their own 28 seeking an opportunity to tie, and drove to the North Central 10-yard line. Smyth lofted a pass toward the right corner of the end zone and saw it snatched out of the air by Rahmareon Roby, whose second interception of the year neutralized the threat and gave the Cardinals the ball on their own three-yard line.

Coleman broke loose for a 46-yard gain two plays later to get out of IWU territory, as North Central ran the ball 11 times in a 13-play, 97-yard drive that consumed nearly seven minutes and finished with Sean Allen's 10-yard touchdown run up the middle with 10:27 to play. 

A fourth-down conversion attempt at the North Central 39-yard line was stopped when John Sullivan tackled Smyth short of the line to gain. The Cardinals were knocking on the door just four plays later as Lehnen connected with Paradee for a 47-yard gain. Coleman scored his second touchdown of the day from two yards out, closing out a day which saw him gain a career-high 98 yards and score multiple touchdowns for the second straight week.

North Central finished with 573 total yards, 374 of which came from its running game. The Cardinals have averaged 369.3 rushing yards per game in their last four contests, and entered the game ranked fourth among all Division III teams in rushing yards per game. 

Zack Orr made a team-high 11 tackles, the most any this season by a North Central player, while Will Vernon finished with seven and Roby recorded six. 

Pairings and first-round site selections for the 2024 NCAA Division III Football Championship will be announced Sunday at 4 p.m. Central time at ncaa.com., with subsequent coverage to come at northcentralcardinals.com. The tournament field has been expanded from 32 to 40 teams this season, so some teams will have a bye through the first round on Saturday, Nov. 23. 

Beginning in 2024, all games through the semifinal round of the Division III Football Championships will be broadcast live exclusively on ESPN+. A subscription is required to view the broadcast. Visit plus.espn.com to learn about subscription options.