NAPERVILLE, Ill. - A pair of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) football teams were in action on Saturday in the Second Round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Football Championships. North Central held off a determined University of Wisconsin-La Crosse squad 34-20, while Wheaton was cut down on the final play of the game in a 30-28 loss at Central College (Iowa).
North Central stormed out to a 20-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes of action, but a late Eagles score closed the halftime gap to 20-7. UW-La Crosse connected on two field goal in the third quarter to pull within 20-13, but Ethan Greenfield's second rushing touchdown of the day returned the lead to two scores at 27-13. The Eagles answered less than two minutes later to pull within 27-20, but Terrance Hill's second rushing touchdown of the day, coming with 6:07 remaining, iced the win for the Cardinals.
North Central did most of its damage on the ground, rolling for over 300 yards rushing led by Greenfield's 198 yards on 30 carries. Hill finished with 80 yards on five carries.
The Cardinals will play host to 18th-ranked RPI (11-1) in the Quarterfinals on Saturday, December 4 with kickoff scheduled for noon.
After falling behind early in their matchup at Central, Wheaton rallied to take a 14-7 halftime lead. With defenses taking center stage, Wheaton followed a third quarter Central field goal with a six-yard touchdown pass to Adam Terrini to take a 21-10 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Central rallied for two touchdowns to retake the lead at 24-21. Wheaton answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by a touchdown pass from Luke Anthony to Terrelle Brown with 2:41 to play. Central responded again, converting two fourth downs and scoring the go-ahead three-yard touchdown pass as time expired to pull out the 30-28 victory.
Giovanni Weeks established a new program-record for single season rushing yards after rushing for 105 yards on 18 carries. Luke Anthony threw three touchdown passes and rushed for a touchdown. Dallas McRae finished his record-setting career with seven tackles including three sacks, finishing the season with 22 tackles for loss and 13 sacks on the season. Wheaton finishes the season 10-2.