Jaydin Miller is North Park's tackles, tackles for loss and sacks leader, and was a D3football.com All-Region 5 selection in 2023. North Park athletics photo by Jeff Nelson

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com

The process is showing progress at North Park.

The Vikings’ program, which struggled for years, has found some traction under sixth-year head coach Kyle Rooker. After a 5-5 finish last season – their best in more than 50 years – North Park is off to a 4-1 start.

“We’re doing stuff the right way on and off the field now. Everybody loves each other, cares for each other and pushes each other on the field,” Vikings senior quarterback Matt Eck said. “I think that’s where our success is coming from – understanding how to push each other.”

That knowledge transfer happened upon Rooker’s arrival in 2019, though it took a while to manifest within the program.

“It certainly has not been easy. It’s been a challenge,” he said. “The program wasn’t in a great place when we got here. Then, 2020 and COVID happened – it’s been a battle to get to this point. It’s a credit to our administration, coaches and players for continuing to fight and work and having belief that we can get it turned around.”

The Vikings, who snapped an 89-game College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin losing streak in 2013, are no longer a “gimme” on the schedule. They’ve grown into a solid team that must be game-planned for.

“One of the challenges when we initially got here was the fact we had to start from the ground-up. We were playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores early on. It’s tough to win with 17-, 18- and 19-year-olds when you’re going against players who are 20, 21 ad 22. Certainly, being in the CCIW, you play a really good schedule and face a lot of really good teams. So, all that took its toll early on, but is paying dividends.”

After a 1-9 run in Rooker’s debut, the team went 2-8 in 2021 and 1-9 again in ’22.

“The first few years were rough,” said Eck, who is in his fourth year as a starter. “We knew we had talent. We knew it’d click at some point. We just had to have all the guys buy into the culture and message and doing stuff the right way.

“We knew it wasn’t going to happen overnight. We knew we had to put in the work on and off the field every day, just trying to get better at all the little things,” he continued. “If we work on the little things in practice, in the meeting room and at lifts, then it’d carry over and, one day, it’d all hit and it’d be special.

“We’re still far from where we want to be, though.”

The Vikings suffered their share of blowout losses, but they lost – and won – some close ones, too, which helped build character.

“I wouldn’t say the process was easy, but it helps you grow as a person and athlete,” said Jaydin Miller, a fixture at linebacker since 2021. “Going through some of the aversity that is dealt your way really helps you grow and it brought us together.”

“The process is tough. That’s why a turnaround didn’t happen in Year 2,” Rooker added. “You had some guys that either made a decision to go elsewhere because they weren’t happy or you some guys come in that didn’t stick it out because it is a big challenge. But, that only made the guys who stayed that much better and tougher.”

The physical and mental growth continued to percolate and got a spark when the team rallied for a 23-20 win over Elmhurst in the next-to-last game of the 2022 season. The Vikings saw a 10-0 lead evaporate and faced a 20-10 deficit late in the third quarter. However, they stormed back and took the win when Eck tossed a 12-yard TD pass with 1:16 to play.

That momentum carried over to last fall when the team produced five wins, the most for the program since 1968.

“We got off to a fast start and that gave us confidence,” Eck said. “Our mentality was different. We knew we had what it took to win games and be a good team in this conference. We all just worked hard and we pushed each other day in and day out to get mentally tough and win close games, which we had to do, for sure.

“My first two years, when we got down, you could tell we were down and a lot of guys gave up. This year, our confidence is at a whole different level.”

The attention to detail has paid off for North Park. Three of its four wins, so far, are by four points or fewer, including last week’s 30-26 come-from-behind triumph over Carroll. Once again Eck tossed the winning touchdown with 1:04 to go.

“Just believing in the process has been huge for us,” Miller said. “Knowing that, if you put in the work and focus on the small details and do everything right, you, more than likely, have a greater chance at accomplishing what you want to do, which is to go 1-0 for the week.”

“We have confidence in each other,” Eck added. “You can see it throughout the entire team, even the guys on the sidelines or the guys who are hurt. Everybody believes we can win. When everybody believes it, it goes a long way.”

While the rebuilding process will take years and it could be easy speculating at what lies ahead, the Vikings have embraced a week-by-week approach.

“It’s because that is the team you have to play this current week, so you can’t really worry about anybody else,” Miller said. “You have to give respect to the current opponent you have for the week.”

North Park’s current opponent this week just happens to be No. 1 North Central (5-0). The Vikings, who were shut out, 56-0, last year, are eager for the challenge to compete.

“We are just excited and grateful for the opportunity,” Miller said. “It’s always nice to go out and play the best of the best.”

Being in the same conference, the Vikings have watched the Cardinals build themselves into an elite program and hope to follow that path.

“First and foremost, they deserve all the recognition they get. That’s a tremendous team and program and they are extremely well-coached,” Rooker said. “I think they are a model for any program when you’re trying to build one. We appreciate what they’ve done and we hope to get there at some point.”

North Park’s upperclassmen, who have spearheaded the program’s resurgence, want to establish a standard for the next generation of Vikings.

“We’re setting the example and letting them know what the culture is and letting them know what the end goals are,” Miller said. “Winning the games is nice, but so are a lot of the things you don’t see — like how much people have grown off the field and in the classroom and just as people. That’s really what makes us proud. We’re seeing the pieces fall into the right spots and getting a little success along the way.”