CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Washington University Bears (6-2, 5-2) traveled the six hours north to the Holmgren Athletic Complex, looking to spoil North Park's (5-3, 4-3) senior day. North Park looked to bounce back from their disappointing loss against Carthage University last week. North Park was still aiming to get their first winning season since 1968, and WashU posed a tough challenge for the Vikings.
North Park started with ball and was forced to punt, and throughout the game it was senior punter Carson Blatchford's well-placed kicks with quality, rolling bounces that allowed the Vikings to stay in the game. WashU's first drive ended in a rushing touchdown from quarterback Levi Moore, who would account for three of the Bear's touchdowns on the day. After taking a 7-0 lead, the Vikings responded with a 64-yard touchdown from junior receiver Jereme Ombogo, although the extra-point would be no good making the score 7-6.
WashU would score early on another Moore touchdown and be up 14-6 for most of the second quarter, but with less than two minutes left before half senior quarterback Matt Eck found senior running back Marcel Love on a wheel route from the backfield in the endzone for a touchdown. Down 14-12, Coach Rooker kept the offense on the field to try and make it 14-14 going into half. Ombogo shifted from the slot to behind center as Eck shifted to receiver, the ball was snapped to Ombogo and he pitched it Eck as he rolled to the right and found junior receiver Wesley McCloud for the 2-point conversion. 14-14 was the score at halftime.
The first half was practically even in every statistic and the score reflected that, halfway through the 3rd the Bears went ahead again 21-14 after a one-handed touchdown grab from receiver Colling Goldberg. For the next 18 minutes, the defense would hold Wash U scoreless. The Bears are one of the most prolific rushing teams in the CCIW and the Viking defense was able to hold them to their 3rd fewest rushing yards all year, and 2nd fewest behind North Central in CCIW play. This effort was spearheaded by senior backers Egan Bender and Jaydin Miller with four and seven solo tackles respectively and combined for 21 total tackles. Junior cornerback Chandler Hodge also accounted for 7 solo tackles and pass breakup.
On another one of their signature screen plays midway through the 4th, Matt Eck would find Jereme Ombogo on the right side for the completion. Ombogo could find the hole behind a wall of Viking linemen flowing right so he bounced it all the way back to the left, turning a broken play into a 9-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21-21. The Viking defense would get a proceeding stop giving the offense the ball back with 5 minutes left in the game, which started well with a first down on their first play. However, Blatchford and the punt team was sent out after not being able to convert another first down, pinning the Bear offense inside their own 30 with 2:43 left.
Taking two minutes off the clock, Wash U running back Kenneth Hamilton would take the ball in and take the lead 28-21 after the extra point make. The passing offense for the Vikings had found a rhythm in the second half so there was hope for them to move the ball down the field and have a chance to find the endzone and tie the game. After two first downs after the Wash U kickoff, Eck had McCloud open on a post route on the left side and fired it to him. Unfortunately, McCloud was late turning his head out of his break and a Wash U cornerback undercut the route and intercepted the ball, sealing the game for the Bears 28-21.
Historical Notes
Eck is North Park's career record holder for "TD's Responsible For" with 75 and his 69 passing touchdowns are also a school record.
Quick Hits
- Matt Eck – 27/42 316 passing, 3 TD, 2 INT
- Marcel Love – 9 catches, 75 total yards, 1 receiving TD
- Wesley McCloud – 10 catches 111 yards
- Jereme Ombogo – 5 catches 103 yards, 2 TDs
- Egan Bender – 4 solo, 9 assisted, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU
- Jaydin Miller – 3 solo, 5 assisted
- Chandler Hodge – 7 solo, 1 assisted, 1 PBU
- Carson Blatchford – 6 punts, 266 yards, 44.3 avg, 3 inside the 20-yardline
What's Next?
A valiant effort from the Vikings ended in disappointment, spoiling the seniors' last home game. But there is still one game left for the Vikings to reach 6-4 on the year when they take the short ride out to #23 Wheaton College (7-2, 7-1) on Saturday, November 16th. With how the Vikings played today against a very good Wash U team, they definitely can make some noise against the Thunder next week.
