NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Junior Ethan Greenfield rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns and classmate Terrence Hill added 48 rushing yards and two scores to lead the No. 1/1 North Central College football team to a 55-6 victory over No. 18/20 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Playoffs. The Cardinals, who allowed only eight first downs, improve to 12-0 and advance to the semifinals against No. 4/4 Mount Union next Saturday. The Engineers conclude with an 11-2 mark.

Greenfield, who ran the ball 20 times, put North Central, the 2019 NCAA Champions, in front on its first drive of the game when he finished the 10-play, 70-yard series with a two-yard run. Following a short kickoff that the Cardinals recovered, Hill scampered in from 15 yards out for a 14-0 lead with 6:49 to play in the first quarter. 

A four-yard TD run by Greenfield at 11:45 of the second quarter put the home team up by three scores, but RPI countered with an eight-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown pass from George Marinopoulos to Peter Lombardi. North Central scored one more time in the first half and then three times in the third, including a 10-yard run by Hill midway through the frame for a 48-6 lead. Hill rushed nine times in the contest, the first-ever meeting between RPI and North Central.

Marinopoulos threw for 163 yards (16 of 28) with Lombardi catching a game-high nine passes for 81 yards. Austin Charles led the defense with 12 tackles, including eight solos and a nine-yard sack. Three others had seven tackles, including Cole McGrath, who added a tackle for a loss (1 yard) and an interception with a 16-yard return.

Sam Taviani made six tackles on the other side of the field. Luke Lehnen connected on 13 of 17 passes for 197 yards and three scores with DeAngelo Hardy (6 rec. for 83 yards, 1 TD) being his favorite receiver.