North Central College quarterback Luke Lehnen won the 2024 John Gagliardi Trophy for a second straight season on Friday.
The 2020 Chatham Glenwood graduate seized the highest honor in NCAA Division III football after leading the Cardinals to a fifth straight national championship berth. They will meet Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl in Houston, Texas on Sunday, 7 p.m. Both teams are 14-0.
Football All-Area Large School: Here is The State Journal-Register’s Large School All-Area football team for 2024
Student of the game: Glenwood’s Knoedler locks up SJ-R’s Large School Football POTY award
This will be Lehnen’s fourth straight Stagg Bowl appearance. He won the national title against Mount Union in the 2022 season before bowing to Cortland the ensuing year for the team’s only loss.
He is coming off a blistering 66-0 semifinal victory over Susquehanna University after the Cardinals reached the end zone on their first nine possessions. The win tied the DIII semifinal record for largest margin of victory.
Lehnen finished 16-of-17 for 275 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, while also scoring a rushing TD.
Last season, Lehnen set multiple DIII records. They included passing efficiency (263.2), yards per pass (14.7), yards per completion (20) and percentage of passes completed for touchdowns (20.7%). He also broke school records for career rushing yards (2,348) and rushing TDs (36).
The four-year starter and graduate student is on pace to set the career NCAA passing efficiency record (211.8) across all divisions, while shattering all-division records for consecutive games with a touchdown pass (58) and touchdowns responsible for (208).
His 15,632 career total offensive yardage has also far exceeded the previous record of 14,568. He currently remains tied for career touchdown passes (158) in DIII history and third overall in college football history behind only John Matocha of the Colorado School of Mines (162) and Tyson Bagent of Shepherd College (159).
Illinois College quarterback Destin Chance was also among the five finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy.
Football All-Area Small School: Here is The State Journal-Register’s Small School All-Area football team for 2024
Wrecking ball: Meet the SJ-R’s Small School Football Player of the Year: Williamsville’s Braddock Cates
The 2019 Auburn grad finished 234 of 381 (61.4 %) for 3,593 yards and 50 touchdowns. He also rushed for 586 yards on 89 carries with eight scores. He led DIII in total offense with 417.9 yards per game and is the school’s all-time leader with 116 career TD passes.
He recently announced on social media that he will be entering the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining for Division I.
His older brother, Drew, was named the DIII Coordinator of the Year on Thursday, while fifth-year senior receiver Collin Brunstein, a Jacksonville graduate, earned first-team All-American laurels from The Associated Press with 73 receptions for 1,540 yards and 27 touchdowns in his final season at IC.
Brunstein set an NCAA record with 77 career touchdown receptions. He exits as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards (5,047) and touchdown receptions (77).
The Blueboys finished 8-2.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Chatham Glenwood grad Luke Lehnen wins 2024 Gagliardi Trophy
