NAPERVILLE — The Carthage College football team dropped its conference opener on the road, falling 62-0 to No. 1 North Central (Ill.) on Saturday afternoon at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

• Final Score: North Central (Ill.) 62 - Carthage 0
• Location: Naperville, Illinois – Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium
• Records: North Central (Ill.) 3-0, 1-0 CCIW; Carthage 1-1, 0-1 CCIW

• North Central (Ill.) built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and extended its advantage to 27-0 at halftime behind a balanced passing and rushing attack.
• The Cardinals continued to pull away in the second half, scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter and two more in the fourth to seal the victory.

• Defensively, Mariano Talamantez had a team-high 11 tackles, including one tackle for loss.
• Briton Stanton, Ramon Campos, Idarius Walton, and Matthew Burnette each contributed six tackles.
• Freshman punter Matt Grzyb averaged 42.1 yards on eight punts, with a long of 66 yards.

"Losses like this are tough, but they also show us exactly where we need to grow. Our team is resilient, and I believe in the direction we're heading."

• Carthage has its home opener next Saturday, September 7, as the Firebirds face Illinois Wesleyan at 1 p.m.