Dreams of a Red "Purple Bowl"

Photo taken from @JeffySOniiiice

I haven't really devoted the attention to my alma mater's football team that I necessarily would have liked this year, but more important things come up. Even so, I paid as much attention as I could yesterday to the biggest football game in North Central's history.

A little over three years ago, I was in the booth at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville for the school's first quarterfinal berth. Their opponent: one of D-III's two titans of this century: Wisconsin-Whitewater. The 2010 Cardinals had a veteran defense led by the national Defensive Player of the Year in linebacker Matt Wenger, and had some good pieces on offense, including a decent freshman quarterback in Spencer Stanek. The Cardinals started that Whitewater game in good fashion, scoring on the opening drive. Ultimately though, three Cardinal turnovers resulted in 13 Warhawk points, and Whitewater won 20-10 en route to a national title.

Driving through downtown Naperville Saturday morning I had a flashback to that day, because the conditions here were pretty similar to what they were like that fateful day, and were a little heavier out in Alliance, Ohio, where the Cardinals were but a win away from making their first ever Stagg Bowl. Their opponent: another purple-clad titan in Mount Union.

The Stagg Bowl has a long and illustrious history as D-III's title game, and moved around a fair amount in its first 20 years before settling in at its current home in Salem, Virginia. It is hallowed ground for the small schools. CCIW rival Augustana had a run of four straight titles in the 80's, but in the past decade or so, two titans have controlled Division III: Mount Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater. The two have combined to win every title since 2005, and during that time, only once has one failed to show up for their date (Whitewater last season, when they missed the playoffs). Every year, teams line up hoping to get a shot at these giants in hopes of being the ones to slay them.

And boy, did North Central do everything it could to eliminate the defending champs. In wintry conditions like there were (see above), the Cardinals still moved the ball pretty effectively. They made mistakes along the way; Stanek threw a pick-6 late in the second quarter to give up a lead. The Cardinals also struggled after scoring touchdowns and left points on the field. A pair of blocked extra points, plus a botched two-point conversion late kept the door open for Mount Union with 1:38 left to come down and take a lead. They only needed 31 seconds. The winning touchdown was a beautiful pass and great execution on the part of the Raiders, if we're talking objectively. But they left just over a minute for North Central to come back.

Photo by Dan Poel of D3photography.com.

The Cardinals had traded punches with a heavyweight all game. They moved downfield with relative ease much of the day. The running game was doing plenty of damage. Peter Sorensen made catch after catch, including the brilliant one depicted above that ESPN apparently completely ignored in its Top 10. I mean, look at that! How he got a foot down on his way out of bounds boggles my mind. They had an opportunity to take down the defending champs with a last minute drive. They got to the 30 of the Raiders with plenty of time and a pair of timeouts left. They just couldn't quite get it done. A 4th down pass was deflected down, and the Raiders were able to walk off their home turf with a trip to the Stagg Bowl.

Through all of that, I'm incredibly proud of my Cardinals. They thought going in that they could win. They almost did. They traded punches for 60 minutes with a team many thought invincible. You take away some of those mistakes, maybe the Cardinals are preparing for a trip to Salem. Maybe Mount Union finds another way to get through. We'll never know. But this Cardinal team took Naperville for a thrill ride that won't soon be forgotten.

Photo from the 2010 Stagg Bowl. No photographer credited.

What can't be understated though is this: the Cardinals had a chance to face the elite. A ten-game regular season slate sets the stage for 32 of the nation's best teams to do battle. It doesn't take away from the regular season; rather it enhances it. The best teams fight to run the table and earn precious home field advantage for a month of games. Including Saturday's semis, 24 of the 30 games went to the home team. The NCAA rewarded teams for regular season success, something big time college football doesn't quite seem to get. If D-III had a BCS style system, would voter fatigue have ended the Mount Union-Whitewater run of title game matchups? Would a Mary Hardin-Baylor or Linfield have made it? Would a North Central team who had only ever made it to the quarterfinals twice and making their first ever semifinal appearance have even gotten a shot? D-III is football how it should be played: the champion is decided on the field. Those of us who may be sick of seeing Whitewater and Mount Union play in Salem have no gripes. Our teams have had repeated chances and can't pull the trigger. North Central had its first shot at Mount Union Saturday and gave the champs their best shot. It wasn't quite enough. If you want them out of the title game, knock them out yourself. Pure football. Simple as that.