Football team loses to #12 North Central, 69-18

The Olivet College football team closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 69-18 loss against national power North Central (Ill.) College tonight at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, Illinois. The Cardinals entered the game ranked No. 12 in the D3football.com Top 25 poll.

North Central scored touchdowns on its first two possessions of the game. The first score was a 2-yard run by Dominic Sulo and the second score was a 24-yard pass from Aaron Fanthorpe to Jeff Grunwald. Following an Olivet turnover, Phillip Rossberg scampered into the end zone from 13 yards out.

With four minutes left in the opening quarter, the Comets put three points on the scoreboard when freshman Graham Lockwood (Haslett/Williamston) booted a 43-yard field goal. The big play of the scoring drive was a 41-yard pass completion from sophomore quarterback Nick McCleary (Battle Creek/Harper Creek) to freshman J.W. Seekman (Martin).

The Cardinals answered the Olivet drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by Fanthorpe. On the first play of the second quarter, North Central blocked the Comets' punt and recovered at the Olivet 1-yard line. Sulo plunged the one-yard into the end zone for the touchdown to make the score 35-3.

Senior Jared Thornton (Colon) intercepted a Fanthorpe pass in the end zone on the Cardinals' sixth possession. A 25-yard punt return set-up the next North Central scoring drive, which was capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Sulo. Another big play, a 54-yard pass play, aided a Cardinal touchdown drive. Grunwald caught a four-yard pass from Fanthorpe for the final score of the first half. North Central led 49-3 at halftime.

Olivet fumbled away the second-half kickoff. On the Cardinals' fifth play, freshman Jared Goodman (Portland) picked off a pass and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown. Lockwood's PAT kick was no good. On its next possession, Spencer Stanek scored from three yards out. With 2:47 left in the third quarter, Lockwood made a 29-yard field goal to make the score 56-12. North Central responded, as Pat Malek broke loose for a 65-yard touchdown run with 11 minutes left in the game.

The Comets scored their first offensive touchdown with 5:06 remaining on a one-yard quarterback sneak by sophomore C.J. Gregory (Canton/Plymouth). The drive was kept alive with a 22-yard fourth down pass from junior Cam Bramer (Olivet) to sophomore Mike Martin (Caledonia/South Christian). North Central closed the scoring with 1:54 showing on the clock.

Olivet finished the game with 234 yards. Senior Pat Clasgens (Livonia/Stevenson) was held to 31 rushing yards on 10 carries. McCleary tossed for 103 yards on 8-of-17 passing. Junior Ben Sherman (Charlotte) caught three passes for 41 yards. Junior Nick Glass (Flint/Powers) topped the defense with eight tackles. Senior Ryan Patten (Charlotte) averaged 44.6 yards on five punts, including a long of 67 yards.

The Cardinals had 618 yards of offense, including 342 on the ground. Sulo led the ground game with 16 carries for 127 yards and three touchdowns. Fanthorpe completed 14-of-16 passes for 226 yards. The leading receiver was Joe Antonacci with three receptions for 71 yards. Willie Hayes recorded a team-leading seven tackles, including five stops.

The Comets will open Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play next Saturday, Oct. 3, at Albion College. Game time is 1 p.m.