CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park (4-1, 3-1) took the short ride out to Naperville to take on the #1 North Central College Cardinals for a 6pm start, where the Vikings would participate in their 3rd straight homecoming game.   

As both teams tried to get into a rhythm, the defense of North Park would force a punt on the North Central's opening drive.  After a Viking 3-and-out, their defense would only give up a Cardinal field goal, but the Viking offense struggled to move the ball consistently against the best team in the nation.  The Cardinals caught fire quickly, posting 3 straight touchdowns taking a 24-0 lead with just 3 minutes gone in the second quarter.   

North Central quarterback Luke Lehnan made history across all of college football, as he became the first player in history to throw at least 1 touchdown in 50 consecutive games.  In the first half, Lehnan would go 10/15 for 143 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, completing passes to five different receivers and handing the ball to 4 different ball carriers.  The Cardinals would go into halftime up 45-0. 

Senior quarterback Matt Eck was held under 100 yards passing on 26 attempts and the run game as a whole was held to less than 20 yards.  The Vikings will look to shake this game off and move forward, with two of their last four games being at home.   

What's Next?

North Park, now 4-2 overall and 3-2 in CCIW play, will host the Titans of Illinois Wesleyan (3-3, 3-2) on Saturday, October 26th at 1pm, in what is a game that can get them back on track.  After that they'll head north to Carthage College looking to take advantage of a struggling Firebirds (0-6, 0-5).