Cardinals Wear Down Raiders for Third Stagg Bowl Win

Turning away a game effort with a relentless run of second-half play, the North Central College football team made its unbeaten run complete at Shell Energy Stadium Sunday. The Cardinals lifted their third NCAA Division III National Championship trophy in five seasons with a 41-25 defeat of the University of Mount Union (Ohio).

North Central finishes a season with an unblemished 15-0 record for the second time in three years after taking all four second-half possessions to the end zone and coming up with two crucial fourth-quarter defensive stops to put the contest out of reach.

"I'm extremely humbled and proud to be in this position," said North Central head coach Brad Spencer '04. "These seniors - there are 38 of them - have believed in our culture and what we were trying to become. That took a lot of trust and belief, and they went to work. As coaches, we just put good plans in place and put them in a position to succeed."

Spearheading the Cardinals' effort on offense for the final time was quarterback Luke Lehnen, who was voted the game's Most Outstanding Player after accounting for five of the team's six touchdowns. Lehnen completed 18 of 26 passes for 298 yards and four scores while running for 55 yards and another TD, taking sole possession of the Division III record for touchdown passes (162) and tying the all-divisions record. 

Full story here. Watch the post-game press conference here.