MONTGOMERY, Ill. --- Aurora University captured its fourth-straight Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) football title - and sixth NACC title overall - with a 42-0 victory over Concordia University Wisconsin Saturday at Spartan Athletic Park.

Aurora (9-1, 8-0 NACC) outgained CUW (8-2, 6-2 NACC), 504-206, overall, while the Spartan defense forced a total of six turnovers en route to the shutout victory.

The Spartan defense set the tone for the day on the opening series of the game. On the third play, Marcellus Romious intercepted the first of what would be five AU picks on the afternoon. Aurora needed just six plays to turn the Falcon miscue into points as Josh Swanson found Cameron Moore from two yards out to wrap a drive that covered just 35 yards.

The next two CUW drives ended in the same manner as the first, but the the Spartans were unable to convert either takeaway into points and led just 7-0 after one quarter.

On the third play of the second quarter, Jhe'Quay Chretin scored on a two-yard touchdown run to push the Aurora lead to 14-0.

Concordia Wisconsin looked like it might have some offensive momentum building as James Linn completed a 43-yard pass to Samuel Campbell on the first play of its next drive, but a fumble on the ensuing play brought the drive to a screeching halt.

After trading punts, Aurora responded with touchdowns on consecutive drives as Swanson found Moore from 35 yards out and Ty Pruett from 12 yards out to give the Spartans a 28-0 lead at halftime. The Swanson-to-Pruett touchdown pass capped an 8-play, 69-yard drive that all came through the air.

Aurora added two more touchdowns in the third quarter as Swanson connected with Trey Madsen (18 yards) and James Mautino (5 yards) to push his NCAA Division III-leading touchdown pass total to 43.

Leading 42-0 after three quarters, the Spartans' defense capped the day as Deuce Moore scored the unit's fifth interception of the game.

Swanson finished the afternoon completing 24 of 41 passes for 333 yards and five touchdowns. Chretin added 114 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, while Ta'vion Geanes posted 47 yards on 12 carries. Madsen (101 yards, one touchdown) and Moore (94 yards, two touchdowns) both hauled in a game-high six passes, while Michael Boland and Chretin each had four catches.

Linn was just 12-of-33 through the air for 125 yards and five interceptions. Ashar Thomas was CUW's leading rusher with 26 yards on eight carries, while Campbell (54 yards), Thomas (10 yards) Tim Houlihan (16 yards), and TJ Harrold (15 yards) shared team-high honors with two receptions apiece.

Defensively, CUW's Justice Kaneta posted a game-high 18 tackles, including 10 solo stops and 0.5 tackles for loss, while Gio Nowotarski had three tackles and an interception. Ben Slatcoff had six tackles and broke up a pass to lead the Spartans. Romious added four tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack, in addition to his interception. Giancarlo Margarejo picked off two passes, while Moore and Ernesto Ramirez had one apiece.

The victory gave Aurora its 30th consecutive league win and secured the NACC's automatic berth in the 2022 NCAA Division III Football Championship. The Spartans' first-round destination and opponent will be revealed during the NCAA Division III Football Championship selection show, which is slated for 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, on NCAA.com.