FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Oct. 11: North Central College Cardinals (3-1, 1-0 CCIW) at North Park University Vikings (0-4, 0-1 CCIW)

Kickoff: 1 p.m., Holmgren Athletic Complex
Video: www.northpark.edu/live
Radio: 89.1-FM WONC
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/ncc/football
Game Updates: www.twitter.com/NCC_Athletics
Series History: 42-10-2, North Central

Setting the Scene: After opening conference play with a decisive win, the Cardinals play the first of three CCIW road games this week against a North Park team which is still seeking its first win of 2014.

Series History: This is the 55th football meeting between the two schools. North Central owns a record of 42-10-2 in the all-time series and has won every meeting since 1996, giving the Cardinals a current 18-year winning streak.

The teams also met on North Park's home field last season, and the Cardinals came away with a 42-0 victory. North Central owned a 542-206 advantage in total yards and completed five of its six scoring drives in four plays or less. Spencer Stanek completed 12 of 15 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns, while Oshayne Brown led the running game with 65 yards on six carries and Ryne Rezac gained a team-high 88 yards on three receptions. Nick Slezak made a team-high 10 tackles for the Cardinals.

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 12 in the most recent D3football.com National Top 25 poll as well as the lastest Top 25 Poll conducted by the American Football Coaches Association.

Scouting the Vikings: North Park played its third straight road game on Saturday, dropping to 0-4 with a 48-21 loss at Wheaton. The Vikings turned the ball over on two of their first three possessions and surrendered 28 first-quarter points, falling behind by a 41-7 count at halftime as Wheaton scored on six of seven first-half drives.

Two of North Park's first three games this season were not decided until the final few seconds. Concordia University Wisconsin converted a field goal with 40 seconds left to top the Vikings in their home opener, 31-28, and a last-minute drive came to an end on a failed fourth-down conversion in a 24-19 loss at Washington University in St. Louis.

The Vikings are gaining 253 of their 325 yards per game on offense through the air. Sophomore quarterback T.D. Conway is averaging nearly 50 pass attempts per game, having completed 50.3 percent of his throws for a CCIW-leading 1,013 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions.

Senior Daniel Anderson has been Conway's most popular target, catching a CCIW-high 29 passes for 265 yards and four TDs, while freshman wideout Devin Childress has caught 23 passes for 279 yards and three scores. Senior tailback Drew Walkington leads the running game with 209 yards and a touchdown.

North Park's defense has given up 430 yards per game but has forced nine turnovers. Senior linebacker Brendon Dull has a team-best 45 tackles, the second-highest total in the CCIW.

Last Week for the Cardinals: North Central opened CCIW play with a 47-13 home win over Millikin Saturday, breaking the game open by outscoring the Big Blue, 37-3, in the second and third quarters and forcing four turnovers.

All five of the Cardinals' offensive touchdowns came through the air, as Tyler Dicken threw four TD passes in his first start of the season and Dylan Warden came on to throw another, an 80-yard strike to Peter Sorenson. North Central also scored on a 40-yard interception return by linebacker Justin Stuursma and got a pair of field goals from Dom Zavaglia.

Sorenson gained a career-best 156 yards on eight catches while Ryan Kent paced the ground game with 99 yards on 19 carries. Dicken completed 14 of 26 passes for 147 yards while Warden was 4 for 4 for 88 yards. Michael Monterrubio led the Cardinals with nine tackles. Stuursma also recovered a fumble in the game, as did Jordan Dean, and P.J. Crotty posted his first collegiate interception.

North Central Career Rankings: Sorenson currently ranks second all-time at North Central in touchdown receptions (27), fourth in receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,962) and sixth in total touchdowns (25).

Kent, meanwhile, ranks fifth in all-purpose yards (2,812) and rushing yards (2,272) and seventh in rushing touchdowns (24). Tyler Dicken sits ninth in career touchdown passes (12), completed passes (116) and passing yards (1,718).

John Skokna has moved into seventh place all-time in punt return yards (277) and punt return attempts (30).

CCIW Rankings: North Central leads the CCIW in scoring offense (38.2 points per game), kickoff return average (24.8 yards per return), rushing offense (223.2 yards per game), rushing defense (91.5 ypg), total offense (446.8 ypg), total defense (301.2 ypg), passing efficiency (150.4), defensive passing efficiency (103.1), red-zone offense (88.9%) and red-zone defense (66.7%) heading into this week's game.

Dylan Warden is the CCIW's leader in passing efficiency (169.0), while Sorenson is the conference leader in receiving yards (112.2 per game) and Dom Zavaglia leads in field goals made (5) and points scored by kicking (33).
 
Around the CCIW: Elmhurst plays at Carthage this week, while Wheaton travels to Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan heads to Millikin.

CCIW Players of the Week:  Sorenson and Zavaglia, along with Elmhurst linebacker Jake Garabedian, were named the CCIW Football Players of the Week on Monday.

Sorenson scored more than one touchdown in a game for the eighth time in his career. Sorenson moved to within one touchdown reception of the North Central career record (28).

Zavaglia, connected on six-of-seven extra point attempts against Millikin on Saturday. He also converted two field goal attempts of 37 and 31 yards, punted five times for a 31.6-yard average and kicked off seven times for a 51.3-yard average while also completing a 25-yard pass on a fake punt and executing a successful onside kick attempt.

Garabedian tallied nine tackles, a sack and a forced fumble during a 17-10 win over Augustana on Saturday. The Bluejay defense allowed just one first down and surrendered only 32 yards over Augustana's final six offensive possessions, which spanned the final 26 minutes of the game.