Decatur, Il., -- After a rain delay caused tonight's match up to be pushed back almost an hour, the Vikings played their first CCIW game of the season against the Millikin University Big Blue.  Senior safety Ben Butler was back to return the opening kickoff and returned it all the way to the Millikin 48-yard line, setting up great field position for the offense.

Following Butler's big return, North Park's offense went three-and-out having to punt the ball away to the Big Blue.  Freshman punter Drayden Wilcox pinned Millikin back on their own 19-yard and their offense moved the ball well on their first drive, gaining multiple first downs.  The Vikings were able to hold firm around midfield, getting the ball back for their own respective offense.  Subsequently, the Big Blue defense forced another punt from North Park.  Starting their next drive from around the 20-yard line again, quarterback Sylas Gomez connected with Matthew Thurman for a 36-yard pass to put them in Viking territory.  Two plays later, running back Re'John Zeno bursted for a 39-yard touchdown and the first score of the game, giving the Big Blue a 6-0 lead after the missed extra point try.

The Vikings responded by marching down the field after the kickoff, leaning on the run game feeding the ball to sophomore running back Aidan Delisi.  Stalled around midfield, head coach Kyle Rooker went into his bag of tricks, calling a play similar to the historic "Philly Special" ran by Doug Peterson and the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.  Senior quarterback Justen Green handed the ball to Delisi who then lateraled the ball to senior receiver Wesley McCloud, where he threw it back to Green who snuck into the flat and took the ball the Millikin 1-yard line.  Delisi finished the drive by punching in the rushing touchdown which was followed by sophomore kicker Hugo Backing's good extra point attempt.  At 7-6 just a few minutes into the second quarter, Millikin was moving the ball well again, getting around the North Park 35-yard line.  The Vikings' defense made a huge stop on 4^th and 1, as junior defensive tackle Danny Alequin drove the center into the Big Blue running back causing him to trip short of the 1^st down. 

Just outside of the redzone on the following drive, Green fumbled on 3^rd and 9 and Zech Miller of Millikin scooped the ball and took it down to the Viking 19-yard line, setting up Gomez to connect with receiver Kevin Louis for a touchdown on the next play.  On the extra point, senior defensive back Samuel Aguirre blocked the kick, knocking the ball right into safety Ben Butler's hands where he takes it back resulting in two points for the Vikings.  Getting the ball back now down 12-9, the Vikings had a chance to take the lead before half but had to punt once more after going three-and-out. 

With a minute left in the half, the Vikings got Millikin to 4^th and 10 from their own 42-yard line.  After a long timeout, Millikin ran a fake punt slipping a player down the left hash for a deep pass from the punter.  When he threw it, the Vikings were called for pass interference giving the Big Blue another 1^st down.  On 2^nd and 9 with just over 30 seconds left, senior defensive lineman Theo Smith forced Gomez to fumble as he stepped up in the pocket.  Recovered by Millikin, they had time for two more plays meaning they could take a shot with Gomez throwing the ball up to his receivers in the endzone, which they tried and fell incomplete.  On the next and final play of the half, the Big Blue sent their field goal unit out to try the 35-yarder and take a 15-9 lead.  North Park went into half still down 12-9 after the Millikin missed try.

Millikin started the half with the ball, however both teams' first drives of the half resulted in three-and-outs.  On their second drive, the Big Blue got down inside the 10-yard line but couldn't get anything more than a field goal this time around, after Ben Butler and Samuel Aguirre made consecutive big plays to deny a touchdown for Millikin on 2^nd and 3^rd down.  North Park's offense remained stagnant for their next two drives.  During that time, Millikin was able to extend their lead to 22-9 after a made field goal stretched their lead to 15-9 and a following touchdown made it 22-9. 

The Vikings made a quarterback change heading into the fourth quarter, electing to go with sophomore quarterback Cailix Dillon, who on his first drive got North Park down to the Big Blue 5-yard line.  On 4^th and goal, Dillon's quarterback keeper was stuffed resulting in a turnover on downs.  Millikin was able to milk four minutes off the clock, giving the Vikings just under five minutes to try and overcome a 13-point deficit.  However, on their 4^th and 6 punt, Millikin's long snapper sailed his snap over the punter's head which was recovered by Millikin in their own endzone, which meant it was a safety for North Park, inching them closer 22-11. 

Getting the ball right back because of the safety and down 11 with 4:43 left, North Park started on the Millikin 46.  On the first play of this drive, Dillon finds Wesley McCloud down the right sideline for a 45-yard gain putting the Viking offense in prime scoring position.  Dillon finished off the drive with a quarterback sneak to make it 22-17.  North Park went for two to close the gap to three points but could not convert.  Needing another stop to get the offense one last chance to take the lead, North Park was within inches of getting a potential three-and-out, but it was Millikin quarterback Sylas Gomez who scrambled for first down on 3^rd and 9 right at the two-minute warning mark.  From that point, the Vikings had to use all their timeouts to conserve as much time as they could, but it was to no avail as the Big Blue went on to get two more first downs and run out the clock, securing the 22-17 victory.

Now 1-1, North Park will look to bounce back next weekend on Saturday, September 27^th at 6pm for their home opener against Elmhurst University.