North Central College came out of “The Battle for the Little Brass Bell” empty handed for the second year in a row as the Cardinals fell to the Wheaton Thunder 17-9 on Oct. 24. It was North Central’s Homecoming game and the Cardinals debuted the all-black uniforms for the occasion.
The first quarter was scoreless before the Cardinals went up 3-0 with a field goal from junior kicker Dom Zavaglia (’17) in the second quarter. Wheaton fought back on the next drive and kicked a field goal to tie it up at 3-3. At the end of the second quarter the last play was a 43 yard touchdown pass by Thunder quarterback Andrew Bowers, sending the Cardinals to the locker room down 10-3.
Halfway into the third quarter, Bowers passed for another touchdown to put Wheaton up 17-3. The Cardinals did not lay down after this deficit and on their first drive of the fourth quarter they drove all the way down the field, only to throw an interception on Wheaton’s goal line.
After a Wheaton interception by Cardinal senior defensive back Brandon Kibby (’16), North Central capitalized a 25-yard drive on a two-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Austin Breunig (’18).
After a failed extra point attempt by the Cardinals it was still a one-possession game.
An onside kick attempt by Zavaglia was recovered by Wheaton College who killed the clock with a five-minute drive including three Thunder first downs. The clock expired with a score of 17-9 and the Little Brass Bell remains with Wheaton College.
The Cardinals travel to Bloomington, Ill. to take on the Illinois Wesleyan University Titans on Saturday with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
