By Stan Friedman<\/p>\n
CHICAGO, IL (September 29, 2008) \u2013 Tough running by senior Jacob Mueller, and an opportunistic defense led by the strong play of freshmen, powered the North Park University Vikings to a 35-10 Homecoming victory over Benedictine on Saturday.
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\nMueller ran for 98 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns. The defense forced six turnovers and repeatedly gave the offense good field position.<\/p>\n
The Eagles struck first in the opening quarter when Brian Goff kicked a 22-yard field goal, but the rest of the game belonged to North Park.<\/p>\n
The Vikings (1-2) answered on their next series to go up 7-3. Freshman wide receiver Jeremy Dybdahl took a handoff from junior quarterback Shelby Wood and then threw 31 yards to sophomore Sam Lialios to cap a six-play, 67-yard drive.<\/p>\n
The Eagles (0-3) intercepted Wood at the North Park 42-yard line, but the Viking defense held Benedictine in check and took over on offense at their own 35.<\/p>\n
The Vikings made it 14-3 when Mueller forced his way for a six-yard touchdown, which ended an eight-play, 65-yard drive.<\/p>\n
North Park then took the ball right back when freshman Fred Flihan recovered a Benedictine fumble on the first play from scrimmage. Two plays later freshman Sam Cochiaro pulled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Wood to put North Park up 21-3.<\/p>\n
The teams traded punts but Viking freshman Jordan Hill recovered a Benedictine fumble on the kick, and North Park got the ball back at the Benedictine 46-yard line. The Vikings were unable to convert and were forced to punt.<\/p>\n
The Eagles mounted a drive from their nine, but the Viking defense again held, and the half ended with North Park leading 21-3.<\/p>\n
The Eagles received the ball to open the second half and were threatening when freshman Rod Ojong recovered a Hitt fumble and returned it to the Eagles\u2019 42.<\/p>\n
The Vikings took advantage of the opportunity. Mueller capped a nine-play, 41-yard drive, when he slipped into the end zone on a fourth-and-goal from the one. The Vikings led 28-3.<\/p>\n
North Park caught a break when a roughing the passer penalty on Benedictine negated an interception that was returned for a 60-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Viking offense again took advantage of the Benedictine mistake. Lialios wrestled away a 25-yard pass from an Eagles defender in the corner of the end zone to pad the Viking lead to 35-3.<\/p>\n
Freshman Caleb Serrano\u00a0 and sophomore Nick Pantaleo picked off Hitt on successive drives, but the offense was not able to convert those mistakes to points.<\/p>\n
The Eagles scored their only touchdown on a six-yard scamper by running back Mark Mathers to put the score at 35-10.<\/p>\n
The Vikings closed the game when freshman Justin Hernandez forced another Hitt fumble and freshman Abe Farhat recovered.<\/p>\n
The Vikings rushed for 175 yards and netted 157 yards through the air. Wood completed 9 of his 15 passes for 126 yards with two touchdowns.<\/p>\n
During halftime, the North Park football family honored the 1968 football team, which earned a record-breaking 104-32 victory over North Central College on its way to a 6-3 record and a second-place finish in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin that season.<\/p>\n
North Park also commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 1983 baseball team, which established a school record of 33 wins on its way to a CCIW title and an appearance in the NCAA tournament. Former North Park Sports Information Director Dennis Prikkel made the presentations.<\/p>\n
North Park (1-2) returns to action next Saturday when it takes CCIW opponent Wheaton College in Wheaton at 1 p.m. The women\u2019s soccer team dominated their first opponent of the week, but lost their second contest. The Vikings defeated host Mt. Mary College 18-0 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. Senior midfielder Alyssa Jacobson led all scorers with five goals, and four other Vikings scored at least two.<\/p>\n
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\nWomen\u2019s Soccer Has Mixed Results<\/strong><\/p>\n