This Week: Wabash College (7-3) travels to Naperville, Illinois to play fifth-ranked North Central College (9-1) in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Division III Football Tournament Saturday, November 23.

Game Information: Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. CST at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium (5,889). Tickets will be sold at the gates which open at 10:30 a.m. Information regarding tailgating and parking near the stadium as well as other game day information is available at https://sports.wabash.edu/2019NCAAFootballPlayoffs.
 
Broadcast Information: Naperville Community Television will provide a local broadcast that will be available for viewing online at https://northcentralcardinals.com/watch. Live statistics will be available at https://northcentralcardinals.com/sidearmstats/football/.

Series History: Wabash is 3-0 versus North Central, 1-0 in this century after playing back-to-back games in 1914 and 1915. The two teams played at Wabash in the second round of the 2011 playoffs with the Little Giants claiming a 29-28 victory. Wabash outscored North Central 22-0 in the fourth quarter, winning the game with a two-point conversion pass with 52 seconds remaining in the game.

Among The Best: Wabash is the fifth-winningest program in NCAA Division III history with a record of 696-391-59. The top-five programs in all-time victories among DIII teams are Mount Union (808), Wittenberg (780), Washington and Jefferson (751), Widener (710), and Wabash (696).

 
Scouting The Cardinals: North Central earned one of five at-large bids to the 2019 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs after finishing 9-1 with an 8-1 record in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin games. The Cardinals were ranked fourth in the North Region in the final NCAA DIII rankings used to select the at-large participants.
 
North Central enters the game as the number-one scoring offense in Division III with an average of 55 points a game. The Cardinals are also the top offense in the nation by averaging 569.6 yards a game. Senior quarterback Broc Rutter was named the CCIW Offensive Player of the Year for the third time and earned First Team All-CCIW honors for the fourth consecutive season. He ranks second among DIII players in passing TDs (41) and passing efficiency (205.6) and is eighth in passing yards per game (312).
 
Junior wide receiver Andrew Kamienski has caught 20 touchdown passes this season, third-most among DIII players. His 1,269 receiving yards rank fourth overall while his average of 8.5 receptions per game are sixth best this season. Sophomore running back Ethan Greenfield averages 130.8 yards per game to rank 12th in Division III. His 8.49 yards-per-carry average is fourth best in the nation. He ranks 10th overall with 17 rushing touchdowns. Junior guard Sharmore Clarke anchors the offensive line. He was named the CCIW Offensive Lineman of the Year.
 
The Cardinals are equally strong on defense, holding opponents to an average of 245.7 yards per game to rank 11th overall. North Central has limited opposing teams to an average of 13.7 points per game, second best in the CCIW and 16th in Division III. Junior linebacker Ben Wong is the top tackler for the Cardinals with 57. Junior defensive lineman Talha Ayhan leads the team with three sacks and 7-1/2 tackles for losses totaling 42 yards. North Central has recorded nine interceptions this season led by junior cornerback Jake Beesley with two.
 
Wabash Notes:

• Isaac Avant continues his pursuit of a place among the top-five rushers in Wabash College football history. Avant is currently ranked sixth in career rushing yards with 2,921 after carrying the ball 25 times for 78 yards last Saturday at DePauw. He trails Tyler Holmes '14 in fifth place on the Wabash career rushing list with 2,958 yards. Ike James is 12th on the all-time rushing list with 2,150 yards and ranks sixth in career rushing touchdowns with 27.
   
• Quarterback Liam Thompson will be the first freshman to start in an NCAA football playoff game in Wabash history. He was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year and a member of the All-NCAC Second Team on Thursday. He is the second consecutive Wabash player to earn NCAC Newcomer of the Year honors. Sophomore cornerback Jose Franco won the award in 2018.Thompson has thrown for 1,997 yards in 10 games this season, second-best among Wabash freshmen quarterbacks in school history. Knott finished his freshman year with 2,612 passing yards to head the list. Thompson has already surpassed Chris Ings '96 now in third place with a total of 1,993 passing yards in 1992. Dave Broecker '83 ranks fourth on the list with 1,311 yards as a freshman in 1979.
   
• Sophomore punter Joey Annee was named the NCAC Special Teams Player of the Year as well as earning a First Team All-NCAC selection after leading the conference and ranking 12th in the nation with an average of 41.2 yards per punt. He has punted 40 times for a total of 1,647 yards. Annee ranks second on the Wabash single-season record list for average punt yards. He trails Cam Sobleski '14 who averaged 41.3 yards per punt in 2013. Annee hit the longest punt of his career this season with a 64-yard kick at Allegheny. Wabash is ranked ninth as a team in net punting this season with an average of 37.02 yards per attempt.
   
• Twelve Wabash players were honored Thursday as members of the 2019 All-North Coast Athletic Conference Football Team. Joining Annee, Avant, and Franco as First Team All-NCAC selections were Jake Slager, Dane Smith, Brandon Yeagy, and Jake Page. Cooper Sullivan, Connor Phelps, Brock Heffron, and Thompson were selected to the All-NCAC Second Team. Malcolm Lang was named to the All-NCAC Honorable Mention Team.
   
• Wabash head coach Don Morel earned NCAC Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season after guiding his Little Giant team to a 7-2 record in conference games and a 7-3 mark through the regular season. Wabash won a share of the NCAC title for the second straight year and a berth in NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time since 2015.
   
• Sullivan has been a go-to receiver for the Little Giants the entire season. The freshman has caught 38 passes overall with 33 resulting in either a first down or a touchdown. He ranks fourth in the conference in touchdown receptions with five and receiving yards with 584. Sullivan is tied for third in receptions by a Wabash freshman receiver with 38. Eric Snively '94 caught 38 passes as a freshman in 1990. Snively's teammate and current Georgia Tech assistant football coach, Chris Wiesehan '94, holds the Wabash freshman record with 46 receptions during the 1990 season. James Kraus '14 caught 44 passes as a freshman in 2010.

Next Week: The winner of Saturday's game between Wabash and North Central will advance to the second round of the playoffs to face the winner of the game between Mount Union and Hanover. The second-round game will take place Saturday, November 30 at 12 p.m. local time. The location of the game will be announced on Sunday, November 24 by the NCAA.