PICTURED: Enrique Menendez

What was shaping up to be a wistful start, turned into a disappointing ending as North Park suffered its first loss of the season, a 42-24 setback to visiting Midland University Saturday afternoon.

The first half belonged to the Vikings as they were clicking on all cylinders which produced a 17-14 halftime lead. But the Warriors found another gear in the second half and tallied four unanswered touchdowns on their way to their third-straight win to start the season.

A 30-yard field goal from Alexis Santillan, his third FG in the last two games, gave the Vikings an early advantage after an 11-play, 59-yard drive. Midland responded however with a pair of touchdowns to close out the first quarter with a 14-3 advantage. But North Park countered and grabbed the momentum and the lead as it put up back-to-back scores in the second quarter. An Enrique Menedez one-yard bolt up the middle capped a 76-yard drive with just under 12 minutes left in the period and a Kadarius Daniels 32-yard TD catch from T.D. Conway in the back of the end zone put the Vikings ahead with 5:54 left.

Although Midland's offense responded in the second half, North Park still held the edge in total offense as they garnered 453 yards. The Vikes also had 26 first downs to Midland's 21 and garnered 171 yards rushing. Conway completed 21 of his 39 passes for 232 yards while Menendez rushed for 95 yards on 18 carries. Sophomore quarterback Jace Bankord came on late in the second half and completed all four of his passes for 50 yards, including his first collegiate passing touchdown – a 27-yard pass to Norman Cupicciotti – ending a 65-yard drive with 24 seconds left in the contest.

Defensively, Chaun Maiava recorded a game-high 13 tackles, including three tackles for a loss of 13 yards and two sacks for 10 yards. Quenton Voce was equally as impressive as he totaled 11 tackles, one tackle for a loss and one sack while Nick French added 10 tackles. Both David Simmons, Jr. and Frantz Dorcely each had a pass break up.

North Park (1-1) looks to rebound next Saturday when it opens CCIW play with Elmhurst College in Elmhurst at 1 p.m.