CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- In December of 2019, North Central won its first ever Division III football championship. Two years later - after the pandemic canceled last season - the Cardinals finally get to defend that trophy. Coach Jeff Thorne is certain a repeat win would be sweet.
"This group of seniors is the finest group of young men I've ever been around," Thorne told WBBM earlier this week. "The sacrifices they've made, the leadership they've provided through these difficult two years. We've had a lot that's happened."
Thorne's not just talking about COVID. He said a member of the program died by suicide earlier this year, and that two players lost parents - one on the opening day of training camp and one during these playoffs.
"Our players have just wrapped their arms around each other and carried each other through, so it'll be pretty emotional, I can tell you that. Win or lose," he said.
That said - the Cardinals expect to win. And they certainly have the tools. Like running back Ethan Greenfield, who was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2019 Stagg Bowl and who ran for 190 yards in North Central's semifinal win at Mount Union.
"He's got tremendous balance, for one," Thorne said. "His whole body is extremely strong...but from the waist down, he's extremely powerful. The other part of it is just resolve, and saying 'I'm not going to get tackled by the first' guy. We're fortunate to have him."
And to have a quarterback like Luke Lehnen, a true freshman, who took over from record-setting QB Broc Rutter to throw for more than 3,000 yards and run for an additional 600. The son of a coach, Lehnen also shows decision-making prowess beyond his years.
"Well, he's a 32 ACT, so that's not a shock," said Thorne, who noted that Lehnen was a three-sport athlete in high school and hit .350 for North Central's baseball team in the spring. "The kid's a competitor. There's not much more important than that."
Friday's opponent, Mary Hardin-Baylor is no slouch - the Crusaders won the title in 2016 and 2018, and went to the championship game in between. Thorne is certainly wary.
"They do a lot of the same things offensively that we do. Defensively, they're a little bit different, though they still stem from a four-down alignment like we do. But we're very, very similar teams," he said.
This year's Stagg Bowl is in Canton, Ohio, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That means not only a shorter trip for North Central than the Mary Hardin-Baylor side that commuted from Texas, it's also something of a familiar site for the Cardinals - they'll stay at a hotel five minutes away from the one they stayed in for their semifinal win at Mount Union.
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