Photo credit: Paige Wilcox

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The North Park University football team traveled to take on the Bears of Washington University in St. Louis, falling by a score of 35-10.

Following a 28-yard rush by WashU's Matt Moore and a completed 15-yard pass, the Bears threatened to score from NPU's 9-yard line early in the first quarter. However, senior linebacker Uluao Letuli forced a fumbled on the 1-yard line and sophomore linebacker Arnaldo Landrau recovered it in the NPU end zone for a momentum-changing touchback.

However, North Park was not able to get far past the 50-yard line, as WashU forced a punt in the following possession.

After the first quarter of play, a well-defended game by both teams led to a scoreless first 15 minutes.

WashU was the first to score in the second quarter after a 19-yard rush, four-straight pass completions, and a PAT put the Bears up 7-0. North Park also marked its first three points of the game when senior kicker Alex Santillan drove a career third-best 32-yard field goal.

Despite quality defending for a large part of the first half for the Vikings, the Bears marked a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half to capture a 21-3 lead before halftime.

HALFTIME: North Park 3, WashU 21

North Park would inch closer in the third quarter when junior quarterback Grant Borsch connected with senior receiver Malik Powell on a 31-yard and 11-yard passes, placing North Park on WashU's 5-yard line. However, the Bears would force a turnover on downs, stifling the NPU drive.

However, two plays into the WashU drive, defensive back Dalton McKay marked his first interception of the season in a big way. The senior from Cedar Park, Tex. grabbed WashU's passing attempt and ran along the left sideline for a 19-yard pick six as the Vikings trailed 10-21.

Unfortunately, the Bears would tally 54-yard and 32-yard passing touchdowns to take a 35-10 victory.

FINAL: North Park 10, WashU 35

Quick Hits:

• McKay marked the lone Viking touchdown with his ninth career interception
• Uati Pati had eight tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery, and 2.5 tackles for loss
• Letuli had seven tackles, 2.5 for loss, an assisted sack, and a forced fumble
• Thomas Gaul had seven tackles, two for loss, a sack, and forced fumble
• The North Park defense had nine tackles for loss, five sacks, and four pass breakups

What's Next?

North Park (0-4, 0-3 CCIW) returns home this coming Saturday, October 12, to host Wheaton College. Wheaton was ranked No. 9 in this week's D3football.com Top 25 poll. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.