Category: Red Zone Interviews

Brad Spencer On Expectations vs Reality in His First Season It’s safe to say that Brad Spencer couldn’t be having a much better first year as head coach of the North Central football team, as the squad remains undefeated at 13-0 and one win away from reaching a third straight Stagg Bowl. For Spencer, it’s…

BJ Adamchik and Jarod Thornton on a Home Semifinal and Stagg Bowl Rematch Sophomore middle linebacker BJ Adamchik and junior center Jarod Thornton have been at the center of everything, both literally and figuratively, throughout this season for undefeated North Central, including in this past weekend’s quarterfinal victory over Ithaca College. But for everyone around…

Head Coach Brad Spencer on His Team Overcoming a Tough Challenge In what was their toughest test since facing Wheaton almost two months ago, the North Central football team was able to persevere against Carnegie Mellon’s stout defense as Brad Spencer and his team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Football Championship…

Luke Lehnen and Dan Gilroy Remain Center Stage They’ve been stars of the show all season for the Cardinals, and in Saturday’s second round playoff win over Carnegie Mellon sophomore quarterback Luke Lehnen and senior defensive end Dan Gilroy were once again right in the middle of things and return to The Red Zone for…

Dan Lester and Nic Rummell Are Back For, And In, the Playoffs With playoff football comes repeat guests on The Red Zone, and both Dan Lester and Nic Rummell have certainly done enough this season to merit another day in the studio spotlights. Having been freshmen when the Cardinals won their first football national championship…

Brad Spencer on His First Playoff Win and a Dominant Defensive Performance In a year that began with a string of milestone victories, North Central head coach Brad Spencer now has another: his first career playoff victory. The win was highlighted by a record-setting day for the Cardinals defense, which allowed just 64 total yards…

Saturday was a day of celebration for the North Central Cardinals and head coach Brad Spencer not just in the end zone. The team celebrated Senior Day ahead of the final game of the regular season against Augustana, honoring 22 players including 12 fifth-year seniors. The ceremony was a particularly moving experience for Spencer, who…

Will Ebert and Alex Knaperek Help Lead the Charge For all the well deserved praise showered on the North Central rushing attack, none of that success is possible without the work of offensive linemen like Will Ebert and Alex Knaperek. A senior and freshman, respectively, they had very different perspectives on this most recent Cardinals…

Brad Spencer and the Cardinals Are Champions, For the First Time and Again With their victory over Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, the North Central Cardinals became College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin for the second consecutive season and the first year with Brad Spencer as head coach. The team last won back-to-back outright titles in…

Getting to Know Eric Stuedemann and Shane Dierking Given that their names have both been mentioned by players throughout the season, it felt time to have offensive coordinator Eric Stuedemann and defensive coordinator Shane Dierking on The Red Zone to get to know them and hear their thoughts on the recent successes of Cardinals football.…

For fans and other outside observers, North Central football games can start to bleed together due to the combination of offensive firepower and defensive domination. But for Cardinals head coach Brad Spencer and his team, every game brings it’s own lessons, successes, and challenges that they hope will ultimately aid them in once again playing…

Senior linebacker Sam Taviani and junior cornerback Antwain Walker have both been key contributors to what is now officially a historic North Central defense after their program-record fourth consecutive shutout in the Cardinals’ victory over North Park. That isn’t new for Taviani, but Walker is new to the program this year after transferring from Northern…