CHICAGO, IL (September 10, 2011) – The North Park football team earned a strong 38-20 win over host Benedictine University in Lisle Saturday night.

The victory marked the first time a North Park team has started the season 2-0 since the 2005 season, when it opened the year with a 3-0 record.

North Park used 430 yards of total offense to put up its highest point total of the season thus far. Sophomore Chris Broadway ran for two touchdowns, and seniorSam Cochiaro opened the game with an 88-yard kickoff return, the sixth longest kick return for a touchdown in North Park football history.

After Cochiaro's run to start the contest, Benedictine came back with a 42-yard drive to close within 7-6, but its point-after-touchdown kick to tie the score failed. North Park then came back with a 48-yard drive culminating in a four-yard TD run by sophomore quarterback Tyler Krebs and the Vikings were rolling. A 49-yard touchdown run from sophomore John Barnabee six minutes in to the second quarter gave the Vikings a 24-6 advantage and the first of Broadway's two scores, an 18-yard scamper ending a 76-yard drive, gave NP a 31-6 lead just before halftime. Benedictine made it a 31-13 affair at the break with a 5-play, 58-yard scoring drive.

Broadway kept the Vikings in control in the second half when he bolstered the lead to 25 points with a 10-yard TD run, ending an 11-play, 77-yard drive to open the fourth quarter. Benedictine finished off the scoring late in the contest with a 74-yard scoring drive.

Barnabee led the Vikings with 162 yards rushing on 11 carries, while Krebs was 1-for-2 passing with 53 yards. Defensively, Senior Casey Smagala had another strong game as he recorded eight tackles, and junior Cicero Porter came up with seven.

North Park (2-0) heads into a bye this week before returning home to wrap up its non-conference schedule with Washington University-St. Louis Sept. 24 at 1 p.m.

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