Football team upended by #14 North Central, 86-14

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Olivet College football team fell to North Central (Ill.) College, 86-14, today at Benedetti-Wehrli Field in Naperville, Illinois. The Cardinals entered the game ranked No. 14 in this week's D3football.com Top 25 poll.

North Central led 21-0 after one quarter, 45-0 at halftime and 72-0 after three quarters of play. The Comets scored their first seven points with 6:59 left in the final stanza. Freshman quarterback Daniel Bolster (Dundee) capped a 9-play, 33-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak into the end zone. Junior Blake Iobe (Marshall) made the PAT kick.

The Cardinals answered with a touchdown. Olivet closed its scoring when Bolster completed a 71-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Javier Smith (Niles) with 4:39 remaining in the game. Iobe's PAT kick split the uprights. North Central scored one final touchdown with just over two minutes left.

The Comets were limited 169 yards of total offense. Junior Edric Miller (Battle Creek/Central) led the ground game with 10 carries for 32 yards. Bolster and junior Jake Messner (Niles) each completed four passes for 124 total yards. Freshman Andrew Feasel (Marshall) had three receptions for 28 yards. Defensively, Glenn VanNortwick (Wayland/ Wayland Union) recorded seven total tackles, including six solo stops.

The Cardinals finished with 496 yards, including 329 on the ground. Mike Boettcher rushed 11 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Fleming had seven carries for 82 yards. Four quarterbacks combined to complete 13-of-15 passes. Tyler Dicken was 7-of-8 for 99 yards, and Brad Crackel was 5-of-5 for 58 yards.

The Comets will wrap-up the non-conference schedule next Saturday, Sept. 24, with a game at Wheaton (Ill.) College. Game time is 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET.