CONCORDIA CHICAGO AT BENEDICTINE
November 5 - SENIOR DAY
1:00 p.m.

REWIND
Benedictine halted a two-game skid while breaking a three-game win streak for Wisconsin Lutheran with a 23-19 victory in the final two minutes. The win marked the third in the final two minutes of the game this year. Luke Ludolph scored the game-winning touchdown on a five-yard dive. The defense forced a pair of fourth quarter turnovers including a pick by Jarrett Lecas in the endzone as Wisconsin Lutheran was attempting to drive for the put-away score. Danny Drummond notched a pair of sacks, including one on the final play to end the game as Wisconsin Lutheran was moving deep into Benedictine territory.  Ludolph was very active in the offense, scoring two touchdowns, adding a pair of two points conversions, and reeling in a career high eight passes for a career best 149 yards. Ryan Sample threw for 447 yards, his third 400+ yard performance of the season. During the game, Sample set single game school records for completions (38) and attempts (61). Sample also matched the single season record for touchdown passes while establishing single season marks for passing yards and attempts.

SCENE SETTER
Benedictine returns home for the first time since October 15, looking to stay alive in the conference chase in the final home contest of the year. A group of 22 seniors will be honored before the game.  

COUGAR CHATTER
Concordia Chicago did not win a conference game last year but has taken a huge step forward this year. Head coach Randy Awrey, in his fourth year, is just one win away from matching the total of his first three seasons. The Cougars have created one of the more prolific offenses in the conference, sitting second to Benedictine in yards per game (430.3) and scoring (31.5). Rashad Lofton leads the conference and ranks third in the nation with 14 touchdowns. Running back Lance Moise leads the conference in rushing at 145.5 yards per game, 11^th nationally. Moise has also accumulated a conference best 12 touchdowns. A.J. Seidler is the conference leader in tackles per game at 10.7. Concordia Chicago vaulted into the championship picture with wins over Rockford and Concordia Wisconsin, but dropped a 42-14 decision at home to Lakeland last week, falling behind 28-0 in the first quarter. Concordia Chicago managed a season low 316 yards.

LAST YEAR
Benedictine posted a shutout of Concordia Chicago, winning 41-0 on the road. Concordia Chicago gained only 195 yards in the game. Ryan Sample threw four touchdowns for Benedictine, including two to Jake Valas. Sample finished with 17 completions on 21 attempts in an efficient performance, throwing for 195 yards. Benedictine ran for 240 yards with Josh Williams reaching 100 yards and Derrick Miles adding 79. Jarrett Lecas intercepted a pair of passes in the victory.

SERIES HISTORY                                                                                                                             
Concordia Chicago is the most frequently played opponent in program history. Benedictine owns an all-time record of 45-29-4 against Concordia. Benedictine has scored 40 or more points in each of the last three meetings, all victories. The only victory for Concordia Chicago in the history of the NACC came in 2012, the year the Cougars won the conference, but a 26-13 score. Benedictine has scored 40 or more points in all but two meetings in the history of the NACC with a high of 58 in 2008.

UP NEXT
Benedictine concludes the season with a game at Aurora next Saturday. The game could determine at the least a share of the conference championship if not who wins the NACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs. Benedictine has not appeared in the playoffs since 2014.

RUSH WEEK
Benedictine has run the ball just 41 times over the last two contests. Benedictine ran the ball a season low 19 times in the loss at Olivet, accumulating just four yards, also a season low. Last week at Wisconsin Lutheran, Benedictine managed just 52 yards on 22 attempts. Benedictine had run for 100+ yards in five straight games with more than 160 over three in a row before the loss at Olivet, attempting at least 31 rushes in each of those affairs. The season high total for rushing yards came on October 1 against Rockford in the conference opener, rolling up 224. Benedictine averages 109.1 rushing yards per game, sixth in the conference. Last year Benedictine led the conference with 1,576 yards on the ground, 157.6 per game. Benedictine does sit second to Lakeland in the conference with 14 rushing touchdowns this year, six from quarterback Ryan Sample, which ranks third in the conference. The team has not produced a single 100-yard rusher in a game this year after seeing three last year. Defensively, Benedictine led the conference in rushing defense at 121.4 yards per game a season ago. The team still leads the conference in 2016, but is allowing 164.6 yards per game. Lakeland piled up a season high 229 yards on the ground on October 15 and Olivet amassed 229 on October 22. Benedictine has allowed over 200 yards on the ground three times this season, all losses.

TOUCHDOWN TIME
Benedictine has scored 41 touchdowns this season, most in the conference. Concordia University Chicago is second with 37 scores. Twelve different individuals have accounted for touchdowns on the year. Elijah Walker leads the team with 11 touchdowns, all receiving. Ryan Sample has thrown for 25 touchdowns while adding six on the ground, third most in the conference. Paul Gray owns five receiving touchdowns. Derrick Miles has tallied four scores rushing while JaVon McBride and Jesse Kilbourn have each scored three times.

STRICTLY STREAKING
Benedictine saw a four-game win streak come to a close with the homecoming loss to Lakeland on October 15. Benedictine has produced win streaks of at least four games in each of the past four seasons. The 2015 team opened the season 1-2 before ripping off six consecutive victories heading into the season ending clash at Lakeland. The team ended the season with five straight wins in 2014 to earn an NCAA playoff berth. In 2013, Benedictine won five straight before a season ending loss against Lakeland. The longest win streak in recent memory came in 2011 with the team winning six straight en route to an appearance in the NCAA Playoffs. During another NCAA season in 2010, the team won seven in a row.

STARTS WITH THE D
No school in the NACC is allowing less than 397 yards per game. Lakeland leads the conference in defense. Benedictine sits sixth at 442.9 yards per game. Opponents throw for an average of 278.3 yards per game, most in the conference, while rushing for 164.6 which is the fewest in conference

SULTANS OF SWAT
Benedictine blocked three kicks at Olivet, two field goals and an extra-point. Jarrett Lecas blocked an extra point and a field goal, returning the blocked field goal 80 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, giving Benedictine a 33-20 lead. Lecas leads the nation with five blocks this season and has twice recorded more than one block. For his efforts, Lecas was named as the NACC Special Teams Player of the Week after the Olivet game. Benedictine has posted six blocks on the season with Dan Chism also owning a block. The six blocks rank in a tie for third in the nation.

SAMPLE SIZE
Ryan Sample has put together a record setting season so far. Sample has broken records during three games this year. Against Concordia Wisconsin on October 8, Sample set  single game records for passing yards (449), touchdowns (six), and total offense (453). The numbers for passing yards and total offense were broken again at Olivet with 475 and 477 respectively. Sample set single game records for completions (38) and attempts (61) in the win over Wisconsin Lutheran last week. The junior is assaulting the school record board in his second year as a starter having thrown for over 5,000 yards and 45 touchdowns. Sample, an honorable mention all-conference selection, has set a career high for touchdown passes with 25, tied for the school's single season mark.  The Manteno, Ill. native threw for over 300 yards in four straight contests from September 10-October 8, all victories. Sample owns eight career games with 300 or more yards passing and has surpassed 400 yards on three occasions this year. Sample set the single season record for passing yards and attempts last week and is tied for 12th in the nation with 25 touchdown passes. Sample also sits fourth in passing yards at 2,808 and sixth in yards per game at 351. Sample ranks fifth nationally in points accounted for with192 on the season having with the 25 passing scores, six rushing, and three two-point conversions.

WALKER WONDERS
Elijah Walker leads the conference with 943 yards receiving, 10th in the nation and just 246 yards away from Eric Green's single season record. Walker has tallied over 110 yards five times this year and has caught at least five passes in all but one game this season, grabbing eight last week at Wisconsin Lutheran. The senior has reeled in 11 touchdowns this year, second in the conference with a number that is tied for 12th most in the country. Walker twice equaled the single game conference record for touchdowns which was broken at Olivet by Paul Gray. Walker caught a career high 12 passes for a career best 185 yards in a road win over Concordia Wisconsin and has accumulated over 150 yards receiving three times this year.

ALL-AMERICAN
Despite a season marred with injury that resulted in a season ending injury in the seventh game of the year, Jarrett Lecas was selected as an AFCA All-American in 2015. Lecas missed parts of six games in total but still accumulated four interceptions, with two returned for a touchdown. The safety was named a Second Team preseason All-American last year by D3football.com. Lecas is just the fifth player in school history to earn All-American honors. John Borsellino was a two-time All-American in 2011 and 2012. This season, the senior leads the team with 72 tackles and owns two interceptions along with four pass breakups. Lecas owns four games with double-digit tackles including a team high 11 in the loss to Lakeland. The three-time first team all-conference selection had posted three consecutive double-digit tackle contests before racking up nine last week, and owns 15 career games with at least 10 tackles. Lecas owns 17 career interceptions, four away from the career record. Additionally, Lecas has been making an impact on special teams, blocking five kicks this year to lead the nation. The Frankfort, Ill. native has also been returning punts and owns a blocked extra-point return for two points and a blocked field goal return for a touchdown.

LUKE'S GOOD
Luke Ludolph has emerged as a focal point of the offense. Ludolph has lined up at quarterback, running back, receiver, and tight end this season. The senior scored two touchdowns last week while catching career high eight passes for a career best 149 yards.Ludolph has caught at least five passes in each of the last three games and owns over 140 yards receiving in the last two. The Washington, Ill. native has caught a career best 21 passes this season for a career high 436 yards and two touchdowns. The 436 yards rank second on the team. Ludolph has also completed a pass for 14 yards while rushing 12 times for 80 yards. Ludolph carried the ball seven times against Rockford and has rushed for a pair of scores while adding three two-point conversions.

TURNOVER MACHINE
Victor Johnson has accounted for five of the 15 turnovers produced by the Benedictine defense. Johnson, who missed last week, has recovered three fumbles while recording a pair of interceptions. Johnson sealed victories with fourth quarter interceptions against Adrian and Concordia Wisconsin. The junior is fourth on the team with 55 tackles, one of five players to have collected 50 or more stops this season.

FOUR SHADES OF GRAY
Paul Gray caught four touchdown passes at Olivet on October 22, setting a conference single game record. The first-year starter has reeled in at least seven passes in each of the past two contests including nine at Olivet. Gray owns five touchdowns on the year while sitting second on the team with 28 catches for 296 yards. Five players own at least 200 yards receiving this year with 11 individuals owning a reception.

CONVERT THIS
Benedictine owns a third down conversion rate of just 38 percent, third in the conference, but is converting on 52 percent of fourth down attempts. Benedictine has gone for it 23 times on fourth down this year including five last week.

FOR TWO
Benedictine has converted on seven two-point conversions this year on nine attempts and have also added a two-point score on a return of a blocked PAT. The seven conversions are the most in the conference. Benedictine has attempted a two-point conversion at least once in each of the last six games. Jacob Czerniakowski, the holder, and Ryan Sample have each thrown for three. Luke Ludolph has caught three conversions and run for another. Elijah Walker has reeled in two conversion passes with Jake Valas owning the other. Jarrett Lecas owns the return for two points after he blocked a kick against Rockford. Additionally, Benedictine owns a pair of safeties this season.
 
KICK THIS
Benedictine is tied for the conference lead in punt return average while sitting second in kickoff return average. Teams have started squibbing on kickoffs to keep the ball away from the return men. Benedictine has returned 33 kicks this year and has racked up 661 yards for an average of 20.0 per return. JaVon McBride leads the conference with a 26.5 yard average per kick return on 10 tries with a long of 59. Elijah Walker sits fourth in the conference at 20.7 yards per return on 11 attempts. Nine individuals have returned kickoffs this year. By contrast, Benedictine has returned 18 punts, most in the conference, for an average of 13.7 yards per return. McBride owns the lone return touchdown of the year, an 85-yard punt return against Rockford on October 1 in the conference opener on his only return attempt of the season. Five individuals have returned punts on the campaign led by Juwann Nelson, who leads the conference with 123 yards on 11 punt returns.

KICK THIS TOO
Four different kickers have attempted extra points this season while two have tried field goals. Freshman Kyle Bennett is 11-of-15 on PATs this season and connected on a 28-yard field goal in his first attempt of the season at Concordia Wisconsin. Bennett missed a 41-yard attempt to tie late in the fourth against Lakeland. Erik Hanson has converted on 7-of-8 PATs while Kyle VanEekeren is a perfect 3-for-3. Stephen Mulkerrins has been seeing more time of late and has converted on four-of-six PATs while serving as the kickoff man. Mulkerrins is the lone returning kicker to see action. Hanson is the only other player to attempt a field goal, an unsuccessful attempt from 25 yards in the home opener. Benedictine has missed seven extra-points this season, most in the conference, but has converted on seven two-point conversions, most in the conference.

KICK THIS TIMES THREE
Brad Nolan is in his first season as a punter. Nolan has attempted 32 punts this year, fewest in the conference. A starter on the defensive line, Nolan is averaging 33.1 yards per punt, but has pinned opponents inside the 20 eight times, or on 25 percent of his attempts. The eight punts inside the 20 are tied for fifth most in the conference. Nolan owns a long of 65, which is the longest in the conference this year. Nolan owns a three punts over 50 yards including a 51-yarder last week.

KICK THIS FOUR
Benedictine has kicked off more than any other team in the conference. Benedictine has totaled 48 kickoffs this season. Concordia Chicago and Lakeland are tied for second with 40. Benedictine averages 58.8 yards per kickoff, or inside the opponents seven-yardline.

RUN OF SAMPLE
In addition to leading the offense through the air, Ryan Sample is also heavily involved in the rushing attack. Sample sits third in the conference with a team leading six rushing touchdowns. The junior scored three times on the ground in the loss to Lakeland, a career high. Sample added a rushing touchdown against Olivet but was sacked a season high five times.

STATE YOUR CASE
The 2016 roster features players from eight different states and a United States Territory (Puerto Rico). The roster features 24 seniors, 24 juniors, 19 sophomores, and 38 freshmen for a total of 105 players. Seventy four players come from Illinois. The next highest state in terms of representation on the roster is Indiana with 13. Ninteen of the 22 players listed on the offensive depth chart hail from Illinois along with three from Indiana. The defensive side is more diverse with 11 coming from Illinois.

RECORD WATCH
Ryan Sample is in sight of several school records. The junior has matched the single season record for passing touchdowns with 25, set by Preston Earl in 2010. Sample has thrown for 2,808 yards this year, bettering the mark of 2,770 yards, set in 1992 by Ed Smith, who was inducted into the Benedictine Hall of Fame this fall. Sample is also just two touchdowns away from the career record of 47, also set by Smith. Sample owns 199 completions this year, also besting Smith's mark of 184 from 1992. Smith attempted 345 passes in 1992, Sample owns 337 this year and has tried 45 or more passes four times. Should Sample stay healthy for another full season he has an opportunity to own most, if not all, of the Benedictine career quarterback records. Elijah Walker is closing in on the single season record for receiving yards, 1,189 owned by another Hall of Famer, Eric Green, also in 1992.

HONOR ROLL
Five different individuals have accounted for six total NACC Player of the Week awards this year. Jarrett Lecas was tabbed as the special teams award winner this week. Ryan Sample is the lone player to receive offensive honors following a win over St. Norbert. JaVon McBride was named the Special Teams Player of the Week after the October 1 win over Rockford. Jordan Wallace also earned defensive honors after the Rockford game. Victor Johnson is the lone repeat winner this year. Johnson has twice been named as the Defensive Player of the Week. Benedictine has received at least one honor after five of the games this season. Johnson was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after recovering three fumbles against Wheaton in the season opener. Sample received honors from D3football.com as well by taking part in the play of the week with a 48-yard run against Adrian.

WORTHLESS STAT?
Benedictine leads the conference in scoring at 36.8 points per game, 44th in the nation, but ranks last in time of possession at just 26:45 per game.

NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Benedictine ranks ninth in the nation in passing offense at 353.5 per game, over 50 yards better than the second best team in the conference.

LEADERBOARD
Benedictine leads or is tied for the NACC lead in 18 different statistical categories.

LONG ROAD
Three of the final four games of the season will be played on the road. Benedictine, who is 1-1 in the stretch thus far, played three consecutive contests at the Village of Lisle/Benedictine University Sports Complex from September 10-October 1. Today marks the final home contest of the season. Benedictine has scored at least 29 points in each of the four home contests this year and is averaging 41.3 points per game at home. Among the scoring totals is a modern day record of 67 points against Rockford, which set a record for the Village of Lisle/Benedictine University Sports Complex. The 67 points were the most since a school record 106 in a 1924 win over Sheridan Athletic Club. Benedictine averages 31.2 points per game away from home.

MIAA MINUTE
The NACC and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association entered into a yearly agreement in 2012 to help with scheduling. The conferences play a yearly challenge where the schools from each conference are pitted against each other. Additionally, with an odd number of teams, the conferences play a second non-conference contest in a crossover on a conference bye week which was added to the agreement in 2014. Benedictine defeated Adrian 35-28 in the challenge on September 24 and lost to Olivet in ovetime last week in the crossover. The NACC has not fared well of late in the series after splitting the first three years. The MIAA won five of the seven games this year with Benedictine and Lakeland as the lone winners for the NACC. The MIAA owns a 25-10 edge in the series, sweeping all the games in 2015. Benedictine and Adrian have met in three consecutive seasons in the challenge game. Overall, Benedictine is 5-3 against the MIAA in the crossover/challenge games and has played Adrian, Albion, Olivet and Kalamazoo.

SCHEDULE STRENGTHS
Benedictine is facing a top notch non-conference schedule in 2016. The first three games of the year all came against schools predicted to win their conference. The full slate of foes boasted a combined regular season record of 36-4 in 2015. Three of the opponents won or shared conference titles. Benedictine opened with a 26-7 loss at Wheaton, currently ranked 12th in the nation. Wheaton, picked to win the CCIW, posted back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons in 2014 and 2015. The second contest featured a home game against the Midwest Conference favorite St. Norbert College. St. Norbert finished the regular season 10-0 last year. Adrian was selected as the preseason favorite in the MIAA. Olivet notched a 9-1 mark last season, sharing the MIAA crown. Olivet tied for second in the preseason poll. Benedictine owns a 2-2 mark in non-conference contests this season. The current combined record for non-conference opponents in 2016 is 24-8. Olivet and St. Norbert currently lead or are tied for their respective conference lead.

PLAYOFF PAST
Benedictine has made more playoff appearances than any school in the history of the NACC with three. With back-to-back appearances in 2010 and 2011, Benedictine became the first school to appear in the playoffs more than once from the conference. Benedictine fell 57-10 at St. Thomas in 2010 and dropped a 47-7 decision at Mt. Union in 2011. The most recent playoff appearance came in 2014 when Benedictine was sent 10 minutes across DuPage County to fall at Wheaton 43-14. The playoff appearances are the first three in program history. Lakeland became the only other program to make multiple appearances with last year's win over Benedictine.  The NACC has never won a playoff game. Concordia Chicago came the closest in 2012, losing 24-23 at home to Bethel in the only home postseason game for the conference, missing on a two-point conversion for the win at the end of regulation.