This was just the way the football Class of 2015 envisioned finishing up their careers at the Holmgren Athletic Complex.
Led by 448 yards of total offense, North Park earned a 36-14 victory going away as it picked up its second-straight win over the Red Men, the first such streak since the 1992-'93 seasons.
Prior to the game, the NPU football family recognized its 18 outstanding seniors – Daniel Anderson, Darryl Blair, Ryan Boswell, Chris Butz, Alvin Cash, Trevor Forker, Andrew Gapsch, Devin Grote, Marcquel Hawkins, Kyle Leibforth, Matt Leibforth, Ryan McCann, Daniel Mikos, Juan Navarro, Brian Palmer, Philip Pendleton, Kenny Pistorious and Drew Walkington – for the hard work and dedication they've given to the program in their time as student-athletes.
Freshman wide receiver Devin Childress had four catches for 79 yards, but more importantly caught three touchdown passes in leading NP to its second College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory in the last three games. Junior Anthony Burton also had seven catches for 82 yards, and sophomore quarterback T.D. Conway completed 26 of his 42 passes for an even 300 yards as he also set the single season record for pass attempts with 409, eclipsing the old record of 405 held by Mike Haehn in the 2004 season.
After giving up an early first-quarter touchdown, the Vikings offense exploded by scoring 36 unanswered points. Childress caught his first TD pass of the day on a 23-yard strike from Conway which ended a 30-yard drive, knotting the score at 7-7 with 11:52 left in the first quarter. Exactly seven minutes later Childress caught his second touchdown of the day on a six-yard toss from Conway which ended a 33-yard drive.
Defensively, North Park was stellar as its defense held Carthage to the second-lowest offensive output of the season, 182 yards of total offense. The Vikings also forced one fumble, and Ryan Boswell came up with a 37-yard interception that was nearly returned for a touchdown early in the game.
North Park added its third touchdown of the day in the second when Burton caught a three-yard pass from Conway ending a 57-yard drive, and Childress nabbed his third TD of the game – a 33-yard burst down the right sideline – to give NP a 28-7 advantage with 31 seconds left in the first half. A pair of Noah Moore field goals – one from 19 yards and the other from 28 yards out – sandwiched a defensive team safety with 7:29 left in the contest. Carthage added its final touchdown with just under three minutes remaining in the game.
North Park improved to 2-7 on the year and 2-4 in the conference. The Vikings close out the 2014 campaign next Saturday when they travel to Bloomington, Illinois for a 1 p.m. contest with Illinois Wesleyan University.
