Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder football team travels to nearby Naperville on Saturday night for the annual meeting between Wheaton and the North Central College Cardinals. Saturday's battle features two nationally ranked teams as Wheaton is ranked 14th in this week's D3football.com Top-25 poll and 15th in the American Football Coaches Association Division III Poll, while North Central is ranked first in each poll.

This year's meeting is the 108th time the two institutions have faced off on the football field as Wheaton holds a 55-49-3 advantage in the all-time series. Wheaton has won six of the past 10 meetings against the Cardinals.

In 1946, the 30th all-time meeting between the two teams, the "Little Brass Bell" trophy was introduced. According to legend, "The Bell" first appeared in New York in the early 1800's. In 1839, a New England family headed westward carrying "The Bell" and settled in DuPage County. "The Bell" became part of the political bickering between Naperville and Wheaton over the location of the DuPage County Courthouse.

In 1857, Wheaton began a campaign to assume the leadership of the county and 10 years later, officially gained control. However, the city of Naperville refused to turn over the county records to Wheaton. At 4 AM one July morning, according to the DuPage County Guide, Wheaton struck back with a raid on the Naperville courthouse which netted the records in questions. From his home opposite the courthouse, Naperville resident Herom H. Cody awoke to see men carrying off armfuls of documents. Before the Congregational Church bell could sound the alarm, the culprits had fled. The Brass Bell was among the items removed.

Years later, "The Bell" came into the possession of a local farmer living between Wheaton and Naperville. Both of his sons wanted to attend college, so it was decided that the son who won a coin toss would attend North Central, while the other would go to Wheaton. Shortly afterwards, the farmer died and the in the division of the estate, the brother attending North Central inherited the "Little Brass Bell".

Ultimately, the prize became a symbol of campus loyalty and became the target of night raids and collegiate shenanigans, moving back and forth between Naperville and Wheaton until it was hidden by the North Central brother. It remained hidden until its rediscovery in the attic of a Naperville home in the early 1940s. In Wheaton and North Central's first-ever conference match up in "The Battle for the Little Brass Bell", Wheaton took a victory 15-14. Wheaton holds a 50-20 advantage in the series since the introduction of the Little Brass Bell Trophy.

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Year	Result	Year	Result
1900	North Central 32, Wheaton 0	1972	Wheaton 30, North Central 12
1914	North Central 94, Wheaton 0	1973	Wheaton 20, North Central 13
1915	North Central 66, Wheaton 0	1974	Wheaton 20, North Central 13
1916	North Central 46, Wheaton 6	1975	Wheaton 23, North Central 19
1917	North Central 64, Wheaton 0	1976	Wheaton 32, North Central 22
1919	North Central 6, Wheaton 3	1977	North Central 25, Wheaton 20
1922	North Central 19, Wheaton 0	1978	North Central 27, Wheaton 12
1923	North Central 7, Wheaton 0	1979	North Central 34, Wheaton 10
1924	Wheaton 13, North Central 6	1980	North Central 28, Wheaton 27
1925	Wheaton 20, North Central 0	1981	North Central 27, Wheaton 13
1926	North Central 10, Wheaton 0	1982	North Central 27, Wheaton 22
1927	North Central 26, Wheaton 6	1983	Wheaton 34, North Central 30
1928	North Central 25, Wheaton 0	1984	Wheaton 35, North Central 0
1929	North Central 45, Wheaton 0	1985	Wheaton 29, North Central 21
1930	North Central 26, Wheaton 0	1986	Wheaton 31, North Central 7
1931	North Central 26, Wheaton 7	1987	North Central 10, Wheaton 6
1932	North Central 7, Wheaton 6	1988	Wheaton 31, North Central 6
1933	Tied 0-0	1989	Wheaton 28, North Central 0
1934	North Central 53, Wheaton 0	1990	Wheaton 38, North Central 7
1935	North Central 16, Wheaton 0	1991	Wheaton 36, North Central 0
1936	Tied 0-0	1992	Wheaton 33, North Central 6
1937	North Central 12, Wheaton 7	1993	Wheaton 56, North Central 12
1938	Wheaton 7, North Central 6	1994	Wheaton 39, North Central 10
1939	North Central 20, Wheaton 13	1995	Wheaton 34, North Central 16
1940	North Central 20, Wheaton 13	1996	Wheaton 30, North Central 19
1941	North Central 13, Wheaton 0	1997	North Central 20, Wheaton 7
1942	North Central 14, Wheaton 0	1998	Wheaton 28, North Central 3
1944	Wheaton 20, North Central 0	1999	Wheaton 49, North Central 13
1945	North Central 16, Wheaton 14	2000	Wheaton 38, North Central 10
1946	North Central 7, Wheaton 0	2001	Wheaton 42, North Central 17
1947	North Central 7, Wheaton 6	2002	Wheaton 41, North Central 7
1948	Wheaton 14, North Central 0	2003	Wheaton 37, North Central 23
1949	Wheaton 13, North Central 0	2004	Wheaton 17, North Central 7
1950	Wheaton 49, North Central 14	2005	North Central 35, Wheaton 26
1951	Wheaton 26, North Central 7	2006	Wheaton 31, North Central 19
1952	Wheaton 21, North Central 0	2007	Wheaton 28, North Central 24
1953	Wheaton 53, North Central 20	2008	North Central 44, Wheaton 21
1954	Wheaton 2, North Central 0	2009	North Central 27, Wheaton 7
1955	Wheaton 12, North Central 7	2010	North Central 28, Wheaton 6
1956	Wheaton 52, North Central 7	2011	North Central 33, Wheaton 7
1957	Wheaton 9, North Central 6	2012	Wheaton 35, North Central 21
1958	Wheaton 33, North Central 6	2013	North Central 35, Wheaton 16
1959	Tied 7-7	2014	Wheaton 34, North Central 31
1960	North Central 7, Wheaton 6	2015	Wheaton 17, North Central 9
1961	Wheaton 20, North Central 7	2016	North Central 35, Wheaton 25
1962	Wheaton 37, North Central 13	2016*	Wheaton 31, North Central 14
1963	Wheaton 13, North Central 7	2017	Wheaton 42, North Central 20
1964	North Central 13, Wheaton 0	2018	Wheaton 52, North Central 30
1966	North Central 16, Wheaton 13	2019	Wheaton 35, North Central 21
1967	Wheaton 15, North Central 14	2021	North Central 20, Wheaton 7
1970	Wheaton 42, North Central 12	2022	North Central 20, Wheaton 33
1971	Wheaton 31, North Central 16	2023	North Central 54, Wheaton 35
		2024	North Central 55, Wheaton 27