Despite a stout defensive effort and a sizable advantage in offensive yardage, the North Central College football team was undone by a rash of turnovers in its 2012 season opener on Saturday, as the Cardinals dropped a 21-17 decision to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on a rain-drenched afternoon at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

The Cardinals owned a 392-206 advantage in total offense and gained 25 first downs, but a total of six turnovers (three interceptions and three lost fumbles), five of which occurred in North Central’s final five possessions, limited the hosts’ visits to the end zone and doomed the Cardinals to their first regular-season home loss since a 28-24 setback against Wheaton in 2007
“I’m sure there will be a lot of things on tape that we can take out of this game,” said North Central head coach John Thorne. “Our guys played really hard, but most every segment of the game is still a ways away from where we need to play. We knew we were really beat up going into the game and we knew it was going to be a terrible battle being able to survive four quarters and pull out a victory.
“Hats off to them, they played really well and didn’t turn the ball over much. They did what they needed to do to win the game.”
The first scoring drive of the game occurred on the Cardinals’ third possession of the first period, which began after defensive tackle Joe Orozco forced a UW-La Crosse fumble and Connor Douglas pounced on the ball at the Eagles’ 24-yard line. Quarterback Spencer Stanek completed an 11-yard shovel pass to Ryne Rezac to collect a first down, then threw a 13-yard strike to Peter Sorenson for the season’s first touchdown.
The Cardinals remained in front, 7-0, until the middle of the second period, when Stanek was sacked and fumbled in La Crosse territory. Eagle defensive end Brandon Heeg scooped up the ball and ran 57 yards for the game-tying score. The game went into halftime deadlocked at 7-7.
North Central regained the lead on its first drive of the second half, which lasted just two plays. Taking over near midfield following a punt, the Cardinals’ Nick Kukuc broke through the defense for a 47-yard touchdown run just over two minutes into the third quarter. The Eagles, however, countered with a lengthy TD run of their own later in the period, as Jared Stan took a handoff and streaked down the right side for a 54-yard run to tie the contest at 14-14 with 9:22 left in the period.
The Cardinals pulled ahead once again shortly before the end of the third period, as a 14-play, 79-yard drive culminated in a 23-yard field goal by Nick Dace. The visitors took the lead for the first time early in the fourth quarter, as cornerback Jacob Flegner snagged a pass from Stanek out of the air and ran it back 39 yards to the goal line.
North Central had three opportunities to move back in front, advancing into the Eagles’ territory each time, including a first down-and-goal from the seven-yard line. Two lost fumbles and an interception, however, put an end to each chance and allowed La Crosse to come away with the victory.
Kukuc gained a game-high 111 yards on 18 rushing attempts, moving into third place all-time at North Central with 2,390 career rushing yards. Sorenson was the team’s top receiver with 71 yards on five catches, while Stanek completed 16 of 34 passes for 171 yards.