NAPERVILLE, Ill.-- North Central's defense and running game proved too much for Trine to overcome as the Thunder fell on the road to the Cardinals, 41-7 Saturday afternoon at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
North Central held Trine to just 14 first downs and 273 yards of total offense. The Cardinals rushed for 269 yards at an average of 5.6 yards per carry. All-CCIW performer Oshayne Brown led the rushing attack with 128 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. NCC freshman quarterback Justin Hunniford completed 13-of-17 passes for 162 yards and two TDs in first-career start. Thunder quarterback Evan Wyse (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) completed 7-of-14 passes for 108 yards and added 26 yards and his first-career touchdown on the ground. Trine fell to 1-1 on the season. The Cardinals open 1-0.
Andrew Bonfiglio (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) caught four passes for 66 yards to lead the Thunder receiving corps. Starting quarterback Taylor Masiewicz (Belmont, Mich./Rockford) completed 2-of-5 passes for 38 yards and rushed for 12 yards on four carries before being forced out of the game in the first quarter.
Joseph Griffin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wayne) picked up a sack and a half on defense for Trine and now has three sacks in first two games as a member of the Thunder. Kyle Wiswell (Three Rivers, Mich./Mendon) made a team-high eight tackles to lead the defense.
Trine's defense came up big early, as the Thunder were able to make a goal-line stand on North Central's opening drive. The Cardinals drove the ball into a first-and-goal situation from the Trine three-yard line, but the Thunder defense rose to the occasion to get the stop. Four-straight runs were stuffed, as Wiswell came up with the fourth-down stop to give Trine possession.
A blocked punt later in the first quarter got NCC on the board, as Matt Randolph stuffed an attempt and returned it three yards for a 6-0 Cardinal advanatage.
On the next North Central possession, Hunniford connected with tight end Nolan Brannick on the first-play of the second quarter for the first offensive touchdown of the game. The 42-yard score put the Cardinals up 13-0.
Wyse then engineered an answer drive, as the Thunder drove 77 yards in 13 plays to pull within 13-7. The freshman QB completed 3-of-4 passes for 55 yards and capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown.
North Central answered with scores on its next two possessions to begin to pull away. Hunniford connected with Ryan Kuhl on a 10-yard TD toss and Brown broke a big run for a 50-yard score to make it 27-7 at the half.
A 23-yard TD run by Austin Breunig pushed the score to 34-7 early in the third quarter. Dylan Warden later added a four-yard rushing touchdown for the final margin.
North Central was successful on 8-of-13 third-down conversions (63 percent), while holding Trine to a 20-percent conversion rate (3-of-15). The Cardinals averaged 6.4 yards per offensive play to 4.0 for the Thunder. Justin Stuursma anchored the NCC defense with a team-high nine tackles, including one for loss.
Trine will host non-conference foe Wisconsin Lutheran next Saturday, Sept. 19. Kickoff in Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.