It took less than 10 minutes for North Central College to get to a 21-0 lead. It would be more than enough for the Cardinals to see off UW-Platteville on Saturday night, 28-7.

North Central got the game started by taking their opening possession into the end zone. Dylan Warden's 8 yard touchdown pass to Kolton Kuczynski capped off the 9 play, 67 yard drive for the Cardinals.

Then the defense got into the act. Pioneers quarterback Bryce Corrigan was sacked on the blitz by Kevin Schroeder, who caused Corrigan to fumble. The ball was recovered by Nick Samuelson, who returned it 23 yards for a scoop and score to make it 14-0.

The North Central defense forced a three and out and then extended their lead even further. The Cardinals went 78 yards in 6 plays, with all six plays coming on the ground. Warden ran for 14 yards on one play, then was followed up by Ryan Kent's 22 yard run, and that was followed up by Matt Randolph running for 29 yards. Kent capped the drive off with a 7 yard run to make it a 21-0 lead.

The game would see plenty of mistakes from both sides. The ensuing possession for Platteville after the Ryan Kent touchdown led to a 31 yard missed field goal from Pat Frio. North Central turned around after the missed field goal and threw an interception.

Platteville drove down to the North Central 6 yard line after the interception. Unfortunately, their fourth and goal pass fell incomplete and UW-Platteville was still held scoreless. The first half ended with the 21-0 score line holding firm for the Cardinals.

Platteville came out in the third quarter and made it a point to score. Their 10 play, 76 yard drive ended with Corrigan finding Trevor Whitehead from 3 yards out to make it 21-7.

Platteville's next drive ended with an interception. Corrigan's pass was picked off by Trey Hartema, but North Central wound up doing nothing with the turnover.

Platteville had a chance to make it a one possession game early in the fourth quarter, but a lost fumble ended those hopes. Peter Mann recovered the ball to give North Central another turnover on the night.

After the fumble, the Cardinals would turn it into points. Ryan Kent rumbled down the sideline for a 62 yard touchdown with over 13 minutes remaining. That made it 28-7 and the Cardinals were on cruise control after that.

Platteville had two more chances for points, but each drive ended without any. The first was a fourth and 6 from the North Central 9 yard line. Corrigan's pass to Partick Sheehan was incomplete. The next drive ended abruptly when Corrigan was picked off by Jordan Dean. After a few first downs, North Central was able to run the clock out.

Bryce Corrigan went 30 of 53 on the game for 233 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Andy Puccini ran 19 times for 82 yards. He also caught 7 passes for 59 yards. Trevor Whitehead finished with 9 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Patrick Sheehan contributed with 5 catches for 46 yards.

Dylan Warden finished 9 of 19 for 111 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Cardinals. He also ran the ball 12 times for 62 yards. Ryan Kent led the way on the ground with 177 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries. Peter Sorenson caught 3 passes for 72.

UW-Platteville falls to 2-1 on the season, but they have a bye next week. They open up their WIAC schedule on October 4 with a game at UW-Eau Claire.

North Central (2-0) has another game against a WIAC opponent next week in UW-Stevens Point (2-0).