NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The historic season for the No. 9/10 Ithaca College football team came to an end in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals as the Bombers fell to No. 1 North Central, 48-7, at Benedetti-Wherli Stadium. Ithaca will conclude its season with a 12-1 record, making the second-most in program history.

North Central controlled the game from start to finish, as the Cardinals racked up nearly 600 yards of offense (383 rushing, 200 passing) and scored in all four quarters and held the ball for more than 42 minutes. The North Central defense also limited the IC offense to just 136 yards of offense, including just 17 yards on the ground.

North Central won the coin toss and elected to receive to opening kick. A holding call spotted the Cardinals on their own 10-yard line and the Bomber defense quickly forced a fourth down, but NCC converted, and the drive continued.

Facing a third down a few plays later, Luke Lehnen rushed for 26 yards on a quarterback keeper to keep the drive moving into IC territory. A 21-yard run by Ethan Greenfield moved the Cardinals into the red zone, and they scored on a 1-yard run by Greenfield shortly after to take a 7-0 lead with 8:30 remaining in the quarter.

On Ithaca's initial drive of the game, the Bombers started with a 10-yard screen pass from A.J. Wingfield to Jake Williams. A few negative plays ensued, and IC faced 3rd-and-18, but a 38-yard completion from Wingfield to Michael Anderson pushed Ithaca down to the North Central 31-yard line. The drive stalled out at the NCC 25 on a turnover on downs.

After the change in possession, North Central pushed its lead to 14-0 with 2:25 left in the quarter as a 41-yard pass from Lehnen to DeAngelo Hardy capped off an 8-play, 75-yard drive.

The Bombers were forced to punt on their next drive, but a 64-yard punt from Michael Roumes gave IC some life as the ball was downed at the 1-yard line with 35 second to go.

North Central would find some breathing room and methodically moved the ball down to the Ithaca 30-yard line before turning it over on downs with 9:04 to go in the half.

The Cardinals took the ball back quickly, however, as Wingfield was intercepted three plays later. NCC turned that takeaway into seven points with 2:46 on the clock as Greenfield scored on a 2-yard run to make it a 21-0 game.

Anthony D'Addetta injected some excitement into the IC sideline on the ensuing kick, as he broke off a 65-yard return to the North Central 26-yard line to set the Bombers up with terrific field position.

The Bombers cashed in on the opportunity as Williams scored on an 11-yard pass from Wingfield with 1:17 left, pulling IC to within a 21-7 difference heading into halftime.

North Central overwhelmed Ithaca in the second half with a 20-point third quarter and another touchdown in the fourth period to account for the 48-7 final.

IC received the second half kick and moved down to the North Central 31-yard line before turning it over to the Cardinals on downs. It took NCC just three plays to capitalize as Lehnen found Hardy for a 41-yard touchdown at the 10:51 mark.

Just over two minutes later, Lehnen called his own number and rushed for a 45-yard touchdown to make it a 34-7 difference.

The Bombers were intercepted on the next snap and North Central punched in another touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Lehnen to Hardy with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter.

North Central scored the final touchdown of the contest just over two minutes into the fourth quarter as Lehnen scored on a 12-yard scamper.

Wingfield threw for 119 yards on 12-for-25 and one score, while Anderson had 59 yards receiving on six catches.

Jonathan Koumas logged 10 tackle on defense, while Matt DeSimpliciis had nine tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss. Roumes added eight tackles, while Jason Haber finished with seven tackles. Kevin Schoch picked up IC's lone sack of 10 yards, to go along with six tackles.