Covenant News - North Park Notches First Football Win

Covenant News

North Park Notches First Football Win

CHICAGO, IL (September 21, 2004) - The North Park University team earned its first victory of the season by beating Eureka College 14-7 Saturday (September 18) at Holmgren Athletic Complex behind a solid defensive effort and touchdowns from Jon Harris and Ahkeem Waterford.

Harris caught six passes for 110 yards while quarterback Mike Haehn threw for 203 total yards for the Vikings, now 1-2 overall. Coach Robin Cooper's defense, meanwhile, limited Eureka to just 272 total yards.

The Vikings have a bye week before hosting Augustana College in a 1 p.m. College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game on October 2. At halftime, the school will dedicate the Holmgren Athletic Complex.

Harris caught a 22-yard pass from Mike Haehn with 46.8 seconds left in the second period to complete an 11-play, 80-yard drive. Leading 7-0 at the half, the Vikings dominated most the third quarter and Waterford's 2-yard run at the 7:11 mark culminated an 8-play, 33-yard drive after North Park's defense pinned Eureka deep in its own territory.

Andy Swenson was an offensive bright spot for the visiting Red Devils (0-2), rushing 32 times for 181 yards. However, North Park limited Eureka to just 109 yards passing and nearly produced a shutout as defensive lineman Ray Decatur had five tackles - two for losses.

Mike Rotenberry had eight tackles, Tim Rotenberry had an interception and Dan Richmond and Quinton Wilks had fumble recoveries for the Vikings. Tim Rotenberry's interception at the 11:09 mark of the second period stopped Eureka's best scoring try in the first half.

Decatur stopped Eureka quarterback Dwayne Siggers on a 4th-and-1 option play preceding North Park's best offensive drive. Running back Josh Gruenewald had two runs for first downs and Haehn and Harris hooked up for a 34 yard completion before connecting on the game's initial touchdown just before halftime.

North Park's special teams opened the third quarter with a big play, stopping Eureka's kickoff return at Eureka's 7-yard-line. The Vikings defense held the Red Devils on the next three plays, forcing a punt, and North Park got the ball back on Eureka's 32-yard-line.

Although North Park didn't move the ball on its next series, the Vikings maintained good field position, which eventually led to Waterford's touchdown. Haehn helped the drive by scrambling for seven and 11 yards.

With 5:04 remaining, Eureka scored its lone touchdown on a 15 yard pass from reserve quarterback Shaun Manning to Chris Carr. However, a fumble recovery by Wilks off a punt return at the 4:41 mark and a stop on a Swenson fourth down draw play near midfield with 1:10 left sealed the victory.

In other NPU sports action last Saturday:

The Vikings volleyball team lost a CCIW home match 30-26, 30-23, 30-9 to Illinois Wesleyan University despite 10 kills and seven digs by Shannon Zoll. NPU plays at Carthage College tonight at 7 p.m. in CCIWaction.
The cross-country program competed at the St. Olaf College Invitational in Northfield, Minnesota; the women's team finished 10th, the men 11th. Grace Conrad was 12th individually in the women's race while teammate Allison Weller was 19th. The top men's team finishers were Luke Johnson (58th) and Erik Shearer (59th).
North Park's men's and women's soccer teams played Concordia University at Mequon, Wisconsin, with men winning 2-1 on a Nick Bruckner goal and the women losing 3-0. The men's team is now 5-1-1 overall. They play at Concordia University of nearby River Forest at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The women's team plays in Madison, Wisconsin, in a nonleague match today.

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