NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Elmhurst football team suffered a 55-0 road loss to 12th-ranked North Central College.
 
Trailing just 17-0 at halftime, Elmhurst (1-7, 0-7 CCIW) struggled to slow down North Central's (7-1, 6-1 CCIW) high-powered offense in the second half as the Cardinals erupted for 38 points in the final 30 minutes, including 28 points in the third quarter. North Central, which entered the game ranked fourth in the nation in total offense, took advantage of a short field in the second half, scoring on their first six possessions.
 
The Cardinals started quickly, scoring just 20 seconds in the first quarter after Broc Rutter connected with Corey Hartama on a 52-yard touchdown pass. A Derik Judka field goal from 33 yards out gave the Cardinals a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. Rutter hit Hartema for a 19-yard touchdown pass early in the second half to stake the Cardinals to the 17-0 lead at the break.
 
North Central came out on fire in the second half, scoring five straight touchdowns to blow the game open. The Cardinals took advantage of a pair of Elmhurst fumbles and a turnover on downs following a fake punt that gave the Cardinals a short field to work with. After scoring on a 60-yard drive to start the second half, the Cardinals' next three touchdowns went for a combined 47 yards as North Central opened up a commanding 45-0 lead after three quarters. The Cardinals tacked on 10 points in the fourth to make the final score 55-0.
 
Elmhurst struggled to run the ball against the Cardinals' defense, which entered the game ranked 33rd in the nation in yards allowed. The Bluejays finished with -18 yards on the ground on 28 attempts. Elmhurst passed for 229 yards, finishing with 211 yards of total offense in the contest.
 
North Central rolled up 489 yards of offense, rushing for 167 while passing for 322.
 
Ben Holloway rushed seven times for 10 yards to lead the Bluejays' ground attack. Orlando Hernandez completed 24-of-39 pass attempts for 217 yards. Seven different Bluejays caught passes in the loss, led by nine receptions for 70 yards by Jawan Gaines. Jacob Mammosser hauled in six passed for 73 yards.
 
Rutter did the bulk of the damage for the Cardinals' offense, completing 18-of-21 passes for 306 yards and five touchdowns. Zach Garrett rushed seven times for a team-leading 77 yards. Cameron Moore led the North Central receivers with six receptions for 122 yards. Hartema caught four passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns while Andrew Kamienski caught six passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns.

Marco Huxhold led Elmhurst's defense with 16 tackles, including three tackles for loss. He also forced two fumbles that he recovered.
 
Elmhurst plays its final home game of the season next Saturday (November 3) when the Bluejays host North Park University.