CCIW

Strong Finish Sends Cardinals Back to Stagg Bowl

In a season when it made a routine out of runaway victories and eye-popping point totals, the North Central College football team cemented its spot in a fourth straight national championship game on defense with the contest hanging in the balance Saturday. The top-ranked Cardinals outlasted the homestanding Wartburg College Knights, 34-27, at Walston-Hoover Stadium in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Football Championship.