North Central College falls short in quest for another championship
SALEM, Va. (CBS) -- North Central College of Naperville has become a national power in Division III football, but they were denied a third championship Friday.
The North Central Cardinals were playing in their fourth straight Stagg Bowl - going for their third championship and second in a row - in Salem, Virginia. They took on the Cortland Red Dragons of the State University of New York at Cortland.
The Cardinals had won 29 straight games coming in.
In the first half, North Central's Charles Coleman punched in a touchdown with a minute to go until halftime. It was the first time all season North Central didn't score at least 21 points in the first half.
It got wild late. With the game tied at 31 with less than two minutes to go in the fourth, Cortland's Zac Boyes passed to Cole Burgess, who went down the sidelines and into the endzone for a touchdown.
That put the Red Dragons up seven.
North Central came right back with what looked like the game-tying touchdown. But they went for a two-point conversion and the lead – and after Cortland called a timeout, North Central's Luke Lehnen was stuffed – and the two-point conversion failed.
The Cards lost 38-37.