North Central football withstands Mount Union comeback bid to win Stagg Bowl
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Ethan Greenfield, Luke Lehnen and DeAngelo Hardy delivered the big plays and North Central (Ill.) beat Mount Union 28-21 on Friday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to win the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl and claim the NCAA Division III championship.
The Cardinals (15-0) finished off a perfect season for rookie coach Brad Spencer.
“It's unbelievable,” said Spencer. “I'm so proud of my staff and players. I just didn't want to mess it up as a first-year coach.”
It was North Central's third trip to the title game. The Cardinals won it in 2019 and lost last season to Mary Hardin-Baylor — after beating Mount Union 26-13 in the semifinals.
The fact that North Central beat 13-time champion Mount Union (14-1) wasn't lost on Spencer.
“We're trying to be the best,” he stated. "And in order to get there you have to beat the best. Beating Mount Union is a step in that direction."
The Cardinals grabbed a 7-0 lead on their first possession of the game. Greenfield carried three times for 16 yards before catching a 34-yard touchdown pass from Lehnen, who also had a 26-yard run on the drive.
Mount Union, playing without injured running back DeAndre Parker and his 1,254 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns, struggled on offense.
Mount Union faced a fourth-and-1 at the North Central 46-yard line trailing 7-0 when Purple Raiders coach Geoff Dartt decided not to go for it after watching his team rush nine times for minus-17 yards. Elliott Warner's punt was downed on the Cardinals' 6-yard line. On first down, Lehnen connected with Hardy for a 94-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead. It was the longest touchdown in program history for the Cardinals.
Mount Union mounted an 18-play 70-yard drive to open the third quarter, taking nearly nine minutes off the clock, but came up empty when the Cardinals stuffed a fourth-and-2 run.
Greenfield took a second-down handoff and raced 58 yards to the Raiders' 26-yard line. The third quarter ended with the Cardinals 4 yards away from the end zone. Greenfield took a direct snap on the first play of the fourth quarter and scooted around the left end for a score and a 21-0 lead.
Mount Union answered with Braxton Plunk's 9-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper to get within 21-7 with 9:19 left to play.
Mount Union forced a three-and-out and Plunk used nine plays before connecting with Wayne Ruby Jr. for a 3-yard touchdown to cut the Raiders' deficit to seven. It was Ruby's 30th touchdown catch of the season.
Lehnen passed to Hardy for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Cardinals up 28-14 with 1:24 left to play. Lehnen had a 42-yard run on third-and-10 to set up the score.
The Raiders scored with 30 seconds remaining on Plunk's 4-yard touchdown toss to Edwin Reed after connecting with Ruby for a 41-yard gain on the previous play. The onside kick failed.
Lehnen completed just 4-of-10 passes, but three of them went for scores. He carried 10 times for 98 yards. Greenfield, a three-time AP All-America selection, was this season's Gagliardi Trophy winner, given to the top player in Division III.
The Purple Raiders, making their 22nd national championship game appearance, have won 13 Division III titles, the last coming in 2017.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Mount Union football falls to North Central in Division III title game
