2014 North Park Football Roster
2014 North Park Football Schedule
It started with a belief and a philosophy that if you work hard at something it can be achieved.
The 2013 edition of the North Park football team entered the campaign as a squad without much it could bank success on. But as the season progressed and ultimately came to a close, the Vikings were left with one of the most successful seasons the program has produced in nearly 35 years.
This year's Vikings' contingent is no different as North Park looks to build on the success it had from a year ago with some veteran leadership and a number of new faces eager to meet the challenges.
"Each week presents a new opportunity and challenge, and we are going to approach it that way," Vikings' head coach Mike Conway said.
Although North Park ended the year with a 3-7 record, the Vikings put to rest some of the doubts that carried over from years past.
"Success is relative," Conway said, "and three wins does not normally constitute a successful season. But now recognizing the task we had here last year, I understand a little more that we had our work cut out for us."
The North Park Football team went out and broke numerous records, most notably a 13-year, 89-game College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin losing streak with a 22-20 victory over Carthage College on Homecoming weekend October 5. In addition, the Vikings earned three CCIW victories, the most since the 1979 season which included victories over Augustana College (45-35, October 26), NP's first win over Augie since 1971 and the first-ever in Rock Island, and a 35-32 win over Millikin which ended a 42-year losing streak against the Big Blue. The Vikings had their best finish in the final conference standings (tied for fourth) since the 1968 season and Coach Conway was named the CCIW Coach of the Year, becoming the first-ever head football coach in NPU history to earn the honor. He attributes that honor to his coaching staff and the hard work and perseverance the players exhibited throughout the season.
"When we first arrived we talked about being competitive and then about building a foundation to earn some respect," said Conway, who also had the best finish for a first-year NPU football coach. "I think we gained at least a small amount of respect which was definitely important, and our players gained some much-needed confidence moving into 2014."
That started with the one-two punch of All-CCIW selections Dakota Conway and T.D. Conway. Dakota earned First Team all-conference honors, becoming the first player to do so since the 2007 season. T.D. set the single-season mark for pass completions (218) and total yards passing as well as the single-game record for pass completions against Hope College in the opening week of the season.
"T.D. still has a ways to go, and as in any position, especially, at quarterback, you have to learn from your mistakes while you are in the heat of the battle," Conway said. "It was tough for him but that should be expected from a first-year quarterback. T.D. maintained a good attitude about it and did not let things bother him. He progressed well as the season went on, and we only see him continuing to build on that success."
Dakota started all ten games at the wide receiver position last season and ranked second in conference receiving yards with a 60.8 average. He garnered 607 total yards on 49 catches and had a team-best six touchdowns while finishing with a team third-best 629 all-purpose yards.
In addition to these two young starters, there were many players who saw the field for the first time in their collegiate career or played in a new position.
"Last year was an introduction into college football for a lot of young players," Conway said. We are hoping tailbacks D.J. Jones and Drew Walkington can build upon the success that they had last season. With the implementation of a new offense during 2013, our players approach the 2014 season with more confidence."
The return of four-year starter Kenny Pistorius, junior Matt Davis and sophomore Logotaeao Etelagi should provide stability for the offensive line. We are also looking for a number of our offensive seniors to make an impact this year such as Alvin Cash, Andrew Gapsch, Chris Butz, Dan Anderson and Marcquel Hawkins along with a host of talented newcomers.
Although the Vikings defense lost All-CCIW Second Team selection Bennett Dettlinger to graduation, they return nine starters including Second Team All-CCIW defensive back Philip Pendleton who ranked second on the team in total tackles with 65, including a career-high 12 tackles for the Chicago native in NP's historic win over Millikin.
"Phil had an outstanding year for us last season. This year we moved him back to free safety which is his natural position," Conway said. "He along with safeties Ryan Boswell and Brian Palmer had exceptional seasons a year ago. Kyle Leibforth had a good second half of the season as did Brendon Dull and Joe Butz. We return our defensive front led by nose guard and interior linemen Matt Leibforth, Trevor Forker and Hunter Corrigan as well."
The defensive back field will return three players from last year's squad, Ryan McCann, Justin Davis and Mike Harris.
"I believe the senior leadership on defense is excellent and we anticipate much from upper classmen such as Darryl Blair, Daniel Roman and Devin Grote along with a very exciting class of newcomers," Conway said. "We are going to be a more disciplined and confident defense in 2014."
On special teams, we return place kicker Noah Moore and punter John Gieseking who both are coming off breakout seasons.
North Park opens the year with three tough opponents, including NCAA Division III playoff-qualifiers Concordia University Wisconsin and Washington University-St. Louis before the rigorous CCIW schedule.
"We are going to take this season one game at a time and not think ahead to our other opponents," Conway said. "We are going to prepare to win every game. We were over-matched by the top-three teams in the conference last year, but we want to be competitive in those games this year. I believe we have turned that around, and we hope that it develops into more wins, but you have to take things one step at a time. That's all part of the process."
