ELMHURST, Ill. – The North Park University football team opened up their spring season at the home of the Elmhurst University Bluejays this past Friday, earning a 30-21 win.
North Park scored first in the season opener on junior Michael Soracco's seven-yard run. Freshman Fletcher Martin drove the first PAT through the uprights as North Park held a 7-0 lead after one quarter of play.
Elmhurst's Cavallo had a 21-yard touchdown to mark the first points scored in second quarter, but North Park's Martin drilled a 31-yard field goal to put the Vikings up 10-7. Senior quarterback Grant Borsch found sophomore wide receiver Stefan Giminski for a 16-yard touchdown pass in a two-minute scoring drive with 11 seconds left on the clock. The PAT was blocked, but the Vikings still led, 16-7, at halftime.
Elmhurst's Henkel scored on a three-yard run in an eight-play drive to start the third quarter. North Park's Soracco returned the favor with a one-yard TD run and a PAT from Fletcher. However, Henkel found Beck for another Elmhurst touchdown.
North Park came out on top, though, thanks to a 87-yard drive capped off by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Borsch to sophomore Thomas Knight, as the Vikings won, 30-21.
Stat Breakdown from Coach Kyle Rooker:
NORTH PARK OFFENSIVE STATS
QB STATS:
Grant Borsch: 30-39 305 Yards, 2 TDs 0 INT.
RUSHING STATS:
Michael Soracco: 16 carries 86 Yards 2 TD's
Nick Del Nodal: 4 carries 29 yards
AJ Harris: 8 carries 18 yards
RECEIVING STATS: (10 different receivers caught balls)
Stefan Giminski: 6 catches 65 yards. 1 TD
Brandon Vinson: 5 catches 62 yards
Brandon Boyd: 4 catches 46 yards
AJ Harris: 4 catches 38 yards
Micah Lowe: 3 catches 48 yards
Woodrow Corey: 3 catches 9 yards
Thomas Knight: 2 catches 20 yards. 1 TD
Nick Del Nodal: 1 catch 14 yards
Michael Soracco: 1 catch 5 yards
Jordan Johnson: 1 catch -2 yards
NORTH PARK DEFENSIVE INDIVIDUAL STATS
Arnaldo Landrau:
- 5 Tackles
-1 Forced Fumble
-3 Tackles for loss
-1 Sack
-4 Tackle Assists
Joaquin Tafao:
-5 Tackles
-1 Forced Fumble
-1 Tackle for Loss
-1 Tackle Assist
Brandon Victor:
-1 Fumble recovery
-1 Forced Fumble
-1 Sack
DEFENSIVE TOTALS
-3 Forced Fumbles
-1 Fumble Recovered
-7 Tackles for loss
-4 sacks
NORTH PARK SPECIAL TEAMS STATS
Fletcher Martin - 3-4 PAT's, 1-1 FGs
