The excitement of an undefeated season catapulting North Central College back to the NCAA Division III football championship game slowly fizzled Friday night as disappointed fans at The Lantern watched Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Crusaders crush the Cardinals in a 57-24 defeat.
“Despair” summed up Lain Seyer’s feelings after the final score flashed on the screens of the downtown Naperville pub. “It’s horrible. Illinois sports since North Central won (the last football championship in 2019 have) had no luck in anything.”
“It was disappointing,” longtime Naperville resident Lisa Harmon said.
“Could’ve been better,” her friend, Neal, added. “They were the better team. They deserved to win.”
“They were just bigger, stronger, faster,” agreed Kim, one of many alumni who gathered with friends at The Lantern to see if North Central could capture back-to-back championship titles. “We’ll be back next year.”
Despite the lopsided loss, students and alumni supported the players and coaches and didn’t shout out any disapproving boos or loud criticism during or after the game, which aired live on ESPN+.
“We are super proud of the Cardinals for getting to this stage,” North Central fan Jack said, adding he was “excited to see lots of build up.”
“They’ve had a good run. This looks like a tough team,” hardcore fan Charles Sanborn said. “We’ve been here every week except when (we watched) at the (NCC) stadium. We’re all Naperville. It’s home. We’ve been here four generations.”
“I just wanted to be here (because of) the atmosphere at The Lantern. It’s a very townie bar. Even if you didn’t go to North Central, you know all about it when you come here,” NCC 2020 graduate Maggie Allen said.
“Football was such a huge part (of college). I was always at tailgates and games despite me not knowing what’s going on. It’s a big school pride thing,” she said.
Even as fans lamented the growing score disparity, they continued enjoying the camaraderie of coming together to rally behind Coach Jeff Thorne and his players, who earned the program’s first ever NCAA Division III national championship in 2019 before COVID-19 canceled the 2020 Stagg Bowl.
“I was at the (last championship) game in Houston in 2019,” former North Central football player Duane Schantz said. The 1995 graduate, who got his bachelor’s and master’s from NCC and now lives in Long Grove, decided to stay in town and drive to The Lantern to watch the matchup with “other guys from that era,” like former safety Alex Serrano now living in Northwest Indiana and former running back Shane Ellison in Naperville.
“This is just where we always came,” Schantz said. “The Lantern is a staple of the community. It’s the only staple since 1992.
“(As for football), Naperville as a college always had potential. We weren’t all as fortunate to be in a position to succeed as these teams have,” he said.
Since he graduated, North Central has gotten “better facilities, better recruiting, better athletes,” Schantz added.
“They sucked when I went to school there,” 1985 graduate Marty Pieczynski said. “It’s exciting (that) they’re good. The fact that my son went to school there revived my interest in the athletic program. A good athletic director (was) hired. Good facilities (were built) since I was there.”
Pieczynski planned to go to the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, to see the championship battle in person, but his two friends had to bow out because one got COVID-19 and the other was concerned about exposure to the pandemic because he lives with his elderly mother. Instead, Pieczynski got to The Lantern four hours before kickoff to stake out a table.
“I came two years ago at 4 p.m., and all the tables were taken. I’ve been coming here for 40 years,” Pieczynski said.
By the time Cardinal Deangelo Hardy returned the opening kick 93 yards for the first score of the game, The Lantern had filled up with Naperville residents, NCC alumni and current students who continue the tradition of watching North Central sports at the popular pub.
“There’s a lot of alumni here. It’s cool to see that many alumni come out and support the team,” North Central baseball player Jared Wojcik said.
Just getting to a championship game is “unreal at any level of college football. We’d love to see the baseball team do it. Last year we ended up with the most wins in the nation and didn’t make the playoffs. Cross country does it every year. The school as a whole is going in that direction. It’s a school-wide tradition they helped start,” the NCC senior said.
Rooting for your team at a championship game is “good to experience being from such a small school,” North Central softball player Andrea Richards said. “It brings us all together.”
Diane Moca is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
