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Bluejay Football Team Falls to North Central 41-24
Box Score
ELMHURST, Ill. - After grabbing a 24-20 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Elmhurst College football team turned the ball over on four straight possessions, leading to a 41-24 loss to North Central College.
Trailing 20-10 after a North Central field goal in the third quarter, the Elmhurst offense came to life, stringing together a seven-play, 75-yard drive capped by a Chris Kudyba (Des Plaines/Elk Grove) 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Gierke (Elburn/Kaneland).
After the Bluejays' defense held North Central to a three-and-out, the Elmhurst offense put together a seven-play 62-yard drive to take the lead at 24-20 after a David Wilharm (Elgin/Larkin) three-yard touchdown run.
Elmhurst (4-2, 1-2 CCIW) seemed to have momentum as the Bluejays forced the Cardinals to punt again, but on the ensuing possession the Bluejays turned the ball over. Facing a third down from their own 36, Kudyba was picked off by a sliding Derek Sulo at midfield. Although the ball appeared to hit the field, the officials conferred and ruled the interception would stand.
North Central (4-2, 2-1 CCIW) capitalized on the turnover as Aaron Fanthorpe hit Joe Mastrino from 39 yards out to put the Cardinals up 27-24.
Kudyba was intercepted on the Bluejays' first play of their ensuing possession, leading to a two-yard touchdown run by Fanthorpe.
Another Elmhurst interception on the first play of the ensuing possession, led to a a six-yard TD run for Dominic Sulo to give the Cardinals the 41-24 lead.
The Bluejays looked strong in the early going, grabbing a 10-0 lead after two series. The Bluejays drove 87 yards in 12 plays on their first possession of the game with Matt D'Angelo (McHenry/McHenry East) catching a 14-yard touchdown pass from Kudyba.
Elmhurst settled for a 39-yard field goal from Tyler Lomnicki (Elmhurst/York) on its next possession to take a 10-0 lead.
North Central answered back, rattling of 17 straight points to take a 17-10 lead at halftime. After a Ben Aguilar 31-yard field goal, Fanthorpe scored on a 1-yard TD run midway through the second quarter to knot the score at 10-all.
The Cardinals grabbed the lead right before the half as Fanthorpe hit Michael MacIntosh on a 7-yard TD pass to give the Cardinals a 17-10 halftime edge.
North Central rolled up 457 yards of total offense with 263 yards coming on the ground. The Cardinals were good for 194 yards through the air.
Elmhurst finished the contest with 373 yards but were held to only 31 rushing yards. The Bluejays finished the contest with 342 passing yards.
Dominic Sulo led the way for the Cardinals with 151 rushing yards on 26 carries. Fanthorpe carried 19 times for 98 yards and completed 18-of-26 attempts for 169 yards and two TDs. MacIntosh and Perry Welch each hauled in five passes for the Cardinals.
Wilharm was the top rushed for the Bluejays, finishing with 13 yards on five carries. Kudyba finished 31-of-44 for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He was picked off five times, all of them coming in the second half. Blake Veldhuis (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./H.S.) hauled in nine passes for 140 yards while Matt D'Angelo had six catches for 102 yards.
Elmhurst's defense was led by Danny Dichiara's (Ormond Beach, Fla./Father Lopez) 12 tackles. Matt Wenger led the Cardinals with 17 stops (seven solo).
Elmhurst will look to snap its two-game skid next weekend (October 20) when they play at Illinois Wesleyan University.
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