CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park Football held their home opener this afternoon against local foe and number one ranked team in the nation North Central College, marking the first weekend of CCIW play across the conference.
The Vikings gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about early, forcing a pair of Cardinal punts on their opening possessions and scoring first on a quick three-play scoring drive midway through the first quarter. Quarterback Paul Palmer connected with running back Aidan Delisi down the right sideline for a 50-yard touchdown pass with 7:49 remaining in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead after Robert Kubon's made extra point.
North Central would go on to show why they are the top team in the country, answering with a touchdown of their own when receiver David Ballard III took a jet sweep 47-yards to the house to even the score at 7-7. To start the second quarter, running back Jordan Williams capped a 77-yard drive with a touchdown run to push the Cardinals ahead 14-7. But the Vikings stayed resilient, responding with a 13 play, 70-yard drive that chewed more than six minutes off the clock that saw big plays from running back Bryce Black, receiver Kendale Cade, and running back Marco Castro. North Park finished off the drive with a 20-yard field goal from Kubon, inching the Vikings closer 14-10.
However, with halftime approaching North Central put up two more touchdowns to go into the break up 28-10 after quarterback Garret Wilson threw a 65-yard touchdown to receiver Jack Rummell and a 7-yard receiving touchdown to Jake Vitel respectively.
North Park's defense continued to compete over the course of the game, gaining the game's only turnover when Wilson threw a backwards pass that was picked up by linebacker DJ Johnson, setting up the Vikings' offense at the Cardinal 15-yard line. With not many chances in the redzone, the Vikings elected to go for it on fourth down but failed to convert, allowing the Cardinals to maintain their 28-10 lead. The fourth quarter began with a Cardinal field goal, followed by another receiving touchdown from Rummell as the Cardinals began to put the game out of reach. At 38-10 and less than five minutes remaining in the game, North Central remained aggressive capping off an 89-yard drive with a rushing touchdown from Galashky Blaise to put a stamp on their victory, posting a 45-10 final score.
Palmer was efficient despite adverse weather conditions, completing 19/30 passes (63%) for 187 yards and a passing touchdown, while Delisi led the Vikings in all-purpose yards with 79 total yards and a receiving touchdown. Bryce Black was North Park's leading receiver on the afternoon with four catches and 53 yards, adding 79 return yards to his credit.
Defensively, DJ Johnson led all Vikings with 12 total tackles, including three tackles for loss. Not too far behind was defensive back Darrius Whiters and Armando Martinez who tallied 10 and 8 tackles respectively.
What's Next?
The Vikings move to 0-3 on the season as well as 0-1 in CCIW play. With conference play in full swing, North Park will be on the road for the next three games, beginning against Millikin University next Saturday, September 26th.
