MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Week three of the 2026 football season saw the start of league play throughout the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.

Defending champion Concordia University Wisconsin escaped a challenge from perennial contender Aurora University to remain undefeated, while Concordia University Chicago toppled Rockford University to match the Falcons at 3-0 and send the Cougars to their best start since 2017.

Elsewhere, Lakeland knocked Wisconsin Lutheran from the ranks of the unbeaten, and St. Norbert toppled Eureka in a matchup of program's still seeking their first win of the year.

Benedictine (2-0) drew the opening bye and will host Eureka (0-3, 0-1 NACC) in its league opener Saturday.
 

WEEK 3	WEEK 4
Saturday, Sept. 193 Concordia Chicago 46, Rockford 20 Concordia Wisconsin 29, Aurora 28 Lakeland 32, Wisconsin Lutheran 31 St. Norbert 31, Eureka 0 Idle: Benedictine	Saturday, Sept. 26 (all times CT) Wisconsin Lutheran (2-1, 0-1) at St. Norbert (1-2, 1-0), 1 p.m. Aurora (0-3, 0-1) at Rockford (0-3, 0-1), 2 p.m. Concordia Wisconsin (3-0, 1-0) at Lakeland (2-1, 1-0), 3 p.m. Eureka (0-3, 0-1) at Benedictine (2-0, 0-0), 6 p.m. Idle: Concordia Chicago (3-0, 1-0)

Concordia Chicago 46, Rockford 20
Concordia Chicago sprinted out to a 39-0 lead after two-and-a-half quarters against visiting Rockford en route to a 46-20 victory at Concordia Stadium in River Forest, Illinois. The Cougars improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in NACC play, while the Regents dropped to 0-3 overall, 0-1 in league play.

After a Cougars punt to start the game, Rockford quarterback Ryan Vasavilbaso was picked off by Hagan Wascher to give the ball back to CUC. Colton Bosch completed a 54-yard touchdown pass to Kevon Lawson to give the Cougars the lead, and while the extra point was no good, they were still ahead 6-0.

Another turnover by Vasavilbaso gave the ball right back to the Cougars, and Bosch found Lawson for a second time, this one from 47 yards out, to double the Cougars lead and put CUC up 12-0 after another missed extra point.

The two teams traded the ball back and forth into the second quarter, until Concordia Chicago went on a 91-yard drive that was capped off by Bosch fumbling the ball into the end zone, only for Lawson to jump on it for another CUC touchdown. This extra point was good, and the Cougars had a 19-0 lead.

The Cougars added another touchdown with less than a minute to go in the half, and went into halftime holding a 25-0 lead.

The Bosch-to-Lawson connection struck gold for the third time in the third quarter, as a 26-yard strike put the Cougars ahead by five scores.

Concordia Chicago added another touchdown before Rockford finally got on the board, and the game went into the fourth quarter with CUC leading 39-7.

The Regents scored a second consecutive touchdown to start the fourth, but the Cougars answered immediately, with Phoenyx Clark running it 63 yards to give the Cougars a 46-13 lead.

Rockford got another touchdown on a blocked punt by Joey Alvarez to end the scoring, and CUC kneeled the ball to end the game.

Bosch finished the day completing 13 of his 20 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns. Clark led both teams in rushing, with two attempts for 98 yards and a touchdown, averaging 49 yards per rush. Lawson led both teams in receptions, hauling in six passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns.

The Cougars defense picked off Vasavilbaso twice and forced fumbles, while Rockford’s defense forced a fumble by the Cougars and blocked a punt.

Vasavilbaso was 25-of-35 through the air for 196 yards and two touchdowns and picked up another 23 yards on the ground. Malik Gordon led the Regents on the ground with 55 yards on 24 carries, while Napoleon Williams hauled in eight passes for 90 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

In addition to his blocked punt scoop-and-score, Alvarez led Rockford defensively with 12 tackles.

Concordia Wisconsin 29, Aurora 28
In a very close game, Concordia Wisconsin was able to score twelve points in the last three and a half minutes to steal the win at Tomasini Stadium in Mequon, Wisconsin, and improve to 3-0. It was Aurora’s closest game of the year so far, but the late volley from the Falcons felled the Spartans.

The game started slowly, with the only points scored in the first quarter being a 27-yard field goal by Brett Money to put Aurora up 3-0.

A series of punts and turnovers sent the game into the second quarter, where Concordia Wisconsin answered with a 29-yard field goal of its own to tie the game at three.

After the Spartans turned the ball over on downs, CUW became the first team to find the end zone when Roman Funk connected with Jacob Pugh to give the Falcons the 10-3 lead, their first of the game.

Concordia Wisconsin then picked off Aurora quarterback Jackson Alcorn, but a field goal that would have put them up two scores was blocked and run back 86 yards by Jamari Mckay, tying the game at 10 apiece. Neither team could score in the remainder of the half, so they went into the locker rooms with the game tied.

The two teams traded interceptions to start the third quarter, and then Carter London rushed it in from seven yards out to give the lead back to the Spartans.

Concordia Wisconsin immediately answered with a touchdown drive of its own, and Funk found Nick Cromwell in the endzone to once again tie the game.

The game went into the fourth quarter tied, and Money hit another field goal to give the Spartans a 20-17 lead. After trading the ball back and forth, Funk was intercepted by Michael Ingram, who ran it back 60 yards to give the Spartans the 26-17 lead. The two-point conversion failed, so the Spartans were still ahead by nine.

CUW answered immediately with a massive strike of their own when Funk found Kam’Ron Pierre for a 76-yard touchdown pass to make it a one-score game. However, the extra point was blocked and run all the way back by Mckay, putting Aurora back up by five.

Following a failed onside kick and a three-and-out by the Spartans, the Falcons marched 80 yards in just under two minutes, with Funk finding Jack Bradley in the end zone with six seconds left to give the lead and the win to Concordia Wisconsin.

Funk led the teams in passing yards, going 30-54 for 445 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions. Alijah Bright of CUW led both teams in rushing, with 55 yards on nine attempts for an average of 6.1 yards per carry. Pierre had the most receiving yards in the game, catching eight receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown.

Alcorn finished the game 18-of-34 for 248 yards but was picked off three times and sacked twice. AJ Highsmith hauled in eight passes for 136 yards, while London was limited to just 30 yards on 12 carries but accounted for the Spartans' lone offensive touchdown.

Aurora’s defense picked off Funk four times, forced a fumble, and sacked Funk five times - including four by Logan McDonald. Asher Hamby posted a team-high 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops, for the Spartans. 

Lakeland 32, Wisconsin Lutheran 31
In another tight NACC matchup, Lakeland staged a furious fourth-quarter comeback to stun Wisconsin Lutheran at Raabe Stadium in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Lakeland picked up its second straight win, while Wisconsin Lutheran suffered its first defeat of the year.

The Muskies got on the board first, when Carson Glosny found Lamarious Liggins in the end zone from 20 yards out to give Lakeland the early 7-0 lead.

WLC got on the board just a few minutes into the second quarter, with Devin Loehr hitting a 29-yard field goal. The Warriors forced a punt and then scored again, with Roman Morales hitting Elian Ojeda with a 20-yard strike to cap a four-play, 45-yard drive. The Warriors took advantage of another short field just before halftime as Morales found Benett Reader from 14 yards out to take a 17-7 lead into the break.

Wisconsin Lutheran added two more touchdowns in the third quarter as Liam Heiges scored on runs of 1 and 20 yards, leaving the Warriors with a 31-7 advantage with 3:33 to play in the frame.

Unfortunately for Wisconsin Lutheran, Lakeland would score 25 unanswered points to end the game.

Glosny had his second passing touchdown of the game - a 10-yard strike to Caleb Besaw - to finally break the Muskies’ scoring drought, but the two-point conversion failed, leaving Lakeland down 31-13 going into the fourth quarter.

Octavis Cherry rushed for a 13-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter, getting the Muskies within 11. Morales was picked off on the first play of WLC’s following drive, and Glosny needed just two plays to find Besaw for the pair's second 10-yard touchdown hook up of the afternoon. After another unsuccessful two-point conversion, the Muskies were down five with just over eight minutes left.

WLC drove deep into Lakeland’s territory on the following drive, and looked like they might be able to grow their lead. But Morales was sacked on fourth-and-six on the Lakeland 29, and the ball went back to Lakeland.

The Muskies traveled all the way down the field, and Glosny recorded his fourth passing touchdown of the day, his third to Besaw, to give Lakeland the lead with just under two minutes left in the game. The Muskies went for two to try and go up three, but the play was unsuccessful, meaning a field goal would win the game for WLC.

A decent return and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty started the Warriors at midfield, and a deep pass from Morales to Ojeda gave Wisconsin Lutheran first-and-10 on the Lakeland 12. They were unsuccessful in getting the first down, but just needed a field goal to take the lead. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Loehr’s 26-yard field goal was no good, and the Muskies kneeled the ball to complete the comeback win.

Glosny led both teams in passing, completing 26 of his 52 pass attempts for 327 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. Besaw (61 yards) and Deshawn Hampton (91 yards) each had a team-high eight receptions, while Braylon Reece hauled in three passes for a team-best 94 yards. Cherry led the Muskies on the ground with 73 yards on 10 carries.

Morales was 17-of-30 through the air for the Warriors, with Ojeda hauling in a team-best eight passes for 92 yards and Reader adding four catches for 121 yards. Heiges led WLC on the ground with a game-high 174 yards on 22 carries, averaging 6.7 yards per attempt.

Both defenses sacked the opposing quarterback twice and had one interception.

Tayvonne Roberts and Ayden Winston had eight tackles apiece to lead Lakeland, while Jalen Perera matched that number to lead WLC. Perera's total included two tackles-for-loss and a sack.

St. Norbert 31, Eureka 0
St. Norbert was finally able to break into the win column, shutting out Eureka, 31-0, at McKenzie Field at Pete FioRito Stadium in Eureka, Illinois.

The Green Knights started the game off with a 75-yard touchdown drive, capped off by Fernando Rodriguez finding Jacob McVane in the end zone from 21 yards out to put St. Norbert on the board first.

The two teams traded the ball back and forth until Rodriguez connected with McVane once again, this time from 13 yards out to give the Green Knights the 14-0 lead going into the second quarter.

St. Norbert scored on their first drive of the second quarter, this touchdown coming on the ground via an eight-yard run from Nadir Simmons. Rodriguez had another passing touchdown in the quarter, this one a short 2-yard completion to Bennett Schmidt to put the Green Knights up 28-0 going into halftime.

The only scoring for either team in the second half was a 25-yard field goal off the foot of St. Norbert's Tyler Juergensen in the game's waning minutes to give the Green Knights the 31-0 victory.

Rodriguez led the game in passing, going 8-of-17 for 99 yards, a trio of touchdowns, and a trio of interceptions. Simmons had the most yards on the ground, running the ball 11 times for 60 yards and a touchdown, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. McVane had the most receiving yards, catching four passes for 50 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The St. Norbert defense limited Eureka to just 117 yards of total offense, including just 27 yards on 26 rushing attempts, as the Red Devils were kept off the scoreboard for the third game in succession.

Ethan Velazquez was 10-of-24 for 90 yards through the air with three interceptions, with Jacarey Morris hauling in a team-best four passes for 30 yards.