Little Brass Bell stays with North Central
Cardinals enjoy rare consecutive wins over Wheaton
Against third-ranked Wheaton College on Oct. 24, No. 13 North Central College found itself in a rare position early: trailing.
The Cardinals recovered from a seven-point deficit -- their first since their season opener against Ohio Northern -- to take sole possession of first place of the CCIW after a 27-7 upset of the previously undefeated Thunder.
The Cardinals retain possession of the Little Brass Bell, which the two schools have annually played for since 1946, and it's the first time the Cardinals have defeated the Thunder in consecutive years since 1981-82.
North Central scored 27 unanswered points -- 20 of them coming after a 7-7 halftime tie.
North Central's offensive attack was a balanced one with senior running back Dominic Sulo out for the remainder of the season.
The Cardinals picked up 253 yards on the ground, paced by Fanthorpe's 92 yards on nine carries. They also used junior wide receiver Nick Hicks, a former high school quarterback, out of the Wildcat formation.
Through the air, Fanthorpe finished 16 of 27 for 218 yards and four touchdowns for North Central (6-1, 4-1 CCIW).
"We knew this was a big game we had to get past," said Fanthorpe, who graduated from Naperville North High School. "We got past it. We always want to establish our running game. When we establish our running game, (opponents) try to stop our running game and our passing game opens up."
After giving up 48 points and 581 total yards to Carthage last week, North Central's defense stepped up. Wheaton College only managed 213 total yards on the day.
"That was a nice victory," North Central head coach John Thorne said. "Wheaton's a great program. They're very, very well-coached. They're gonna play hard every time you play (them). We've had some real close (games) with them that we've lost in the fourth quarter.
"So to come out and play hard in the second half (and) hold onto that win -- I'm very proud of our young men. They did a great job today."
With both defenses dominating play early, Wheaton College broke out on top first late in the first quarter. Thunder senior quarterback Sean Norris found tight end Seth Skogen for an 11-yard score, which finished a 10-play, 76-yard drive.
Undeterred, the Cardinals came right back on their next drive to answer Skogen's score. North Central drove 78 yards on eight plays, punctuated by Fanthorpe hitting junior tight end Kyle Fiedorowicz for a 14-yard score with 12:07 left in the half.
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