CHICAGO, Ill. -- For the first time since 1972, the North Park Vikings Football Team ended their season with a .500 record. After notching their first 5-win season since 1968, the football program hopes to continue to build on a successful year during recruiting and through offseason training. Though there were some tough losses along the way, and moral victories are not what any team wants, the Vikings should be proud of what they accomplished this season.
Saturday afternoon, the Vikings took on the 12th-ranked Thunder from Wheaton College on their senior day, where all the Vikings' seniors were honored pregame for their dedication to North Park.
Wheaton deferred the toss giving North Park the ball first and made them punt on the opening drive. The Thunder marched the ball downfield for a 9-yard touchdown pass to start the game. The Viking offense was able to move the ball well against a good Thunder defense, right after Wheaton's first score North Park went on a ten-minute drive down the field. They settled to go for a 23-yard field goal, but the kick was wide right. Wheaton went on to score on the succeeding drive and went up 14-0.
With four minutes left to go before halftime, desperate for a score, junior quarterback Matt Eck was flushed out of the pocket to his right and heaved the ball to the endzone to senior receiver AJ Harris. However, the ball was deflected by a Wheaton defender, causing the ball to fall right into the hands of sophomore tight end Mason Wilson at the 4-yard line where he ran it in for the Vikings score.
After kicker Michael Messersmith's extra point was good, the Vikings were looking at going into halftime down 14-7 against the #12 team in the country.
That would change as Wheaton was able to pull off another touchdown just before halftime, going up 21-7 and set to receive the ball to start the third.
The Thunder scored on their opening six-minute drive of the second half. Their defense went on to stop the Vikings' fourth down try on the Viking 30-yard line on the following drive. Wheaton would take over from that spot and go on to score again, pushing the score to 35-7.
Following a fumble caused by senior defensive back Jeff Fisher that was recovered by fellow defensive back Jason Adkinson, the offense of North Park took the ball down field for a 12-yard receiving touchdown caught by senior receiver Jakob Dreksler. The score would be 35-13 due to Wheaton blocking the Messersmith extra point. Wheaton closed the third quarter with another score making it 42-13.
Sophomore running back Kalen Riley-Richardson scored a rushing touchdown on North Park's first drive of the fourth quarter and the Viking offense would stay on the field to attempt the 2-point conversion. It was no good, and the score was 42-19 Wheaton.
A sack fumble by sophomore defensive end Jonathan Thomas gave the ball right back to the Vikings but led to no points, turning it over on downs. Junior linebacker Jaydin Miller ripped the ball right out of a Wheaton running back's hands while Wheaton was in the redzone on the following possession and returned it 38-yards across the 50-yard line. This led to the final score of the game where sophomore running back Quadrell Hill caught a beautiful pass on his wheel route from quarterback Matt Eck for the 17-yard touchdown. The final score would end up being 42-26.
Though the scoring burst were too little too late for the Vikings, they have many positives to look forward to for next season, with many starters returning and hopes of a few seniors returning to play their fifth years like many of the seniors honored today.
Historical Notes
- First time North Park football has reached five wins since 1968. Their previous seasons with five wins: 1958, 1959, 1968
- First time North Park has ever finished in front of Illinois Wesleyan in the CCIW standings
Top Performers
Matt Eck – 28/49, 271 passing yards, 3 TD
Kalen Riley-Richardson – 9 rushes, 53 yards, 1 rushing TD
Quadrell Hill – 48 total yards, 1 receiving TD
Thomas Knight – 5 receptions, 60 yards
Jakob Dreksler – 4 receptions, 48 yards, 1 TD
Jaydin Miller – 9 solo tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumbled recovery for 38 yards
Jonathan Thomas – 3 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
Jeff Fisher – 3 total tackles, 1 forced fumble
