ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst football team could not overcome a sluggish start, falling to North Park 36-19 in the Bluejays' final home game of the 2018 season.
 
Elmhurst (1-8, 0-8 CCIW) struggled out of the gate, falling behind North Park (2-7, 1-7 CCIW) 14-0 and trailing 22-6 after the first quarter. After closing to within 10 points at halftime, the Bluejays were done in by 14 points third quarter points from the Vikings.
 
North Park wasted little time getting on the board. A 60-yard pass completion from Grant Borsch to Malik Powell on the Vikings' first play from scrimmage moved the ball down to the Elmhurst 12-yard line. Three plays later, Borsch snuck into the end zone from a yard out to put North Park up 7-0 quickly.

Elmhurst was held to a three-and-out on its next possession and David Simmons blocked the Blake Bailey's punt attempt, giving the Vikings the ball back at Elmhurst's 20-yard line. Four plays later, Borsch hit Brandon Vinson from nine yards out to put the Vikings up 14-0.
 
Elmhurst got rolling on its third possession, putting its first points on the scoreboard. Justin Parbs returned the kickoff to the Vikings' 38-yard line to give Elmhurst's offense a short field to work with. Five plays later, Ben Holloway burst through a hole and raced 21 yards for a touchdown to put the Bluejays on the board. The extra point was missed, making the score 14-6 in favor of the Vikings.
 
North Park answered back, driving 74 yards in 12 plays on its next possession. Borsch connected with Sid Smith IV for a 37-yard scoring strike to put the Vikings back up by two scores. The Vikings botched the snap on the extra point, but holder Dalton McKay was able to pick up loose ball and convert the two-point conversion to make the score 22-6.
 
Elmhurst strung together a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ate up over six minutes of clock time early in the second quarter. Chase Hankins entered the game for a banged-up Orlando Hernandez and after converting a fourth-and-one on a QB sneak, Hankins connected with Jacob Mammosser from 19 yards out to make the score 22-12.

The Bluejays were mounting a drive late in the half, but Uluao Letuli picked off a Hernandez pass at the Vikings' 20-yard line to kill Elmhurst's drive with just a minute left in the half.
 
Neither team could get much going early in the third quarter, but North Park snuffed out a fake punt attempt by the Bluejays near midfield to take over at their own 46-yard line. Four plays later, Borsch hit Smith for a 20-yard scoring strike to extend the Vikings' lead to 29-12. After an Elmhurst punt, Borsch helped the Vikings put the game out of reach, throwing a 33-yard touchdown strike to Josh Casey.
 
Elmhurst cut the lead down to 17-points early in the fourth quarter after Holloway capped a scoring drive with a two-yard touchdown run, but the Bluejays came no closer as North Park held on for the 17-point win.
 
North Park outgained Elmhurst 378-339 in the contest. Elmhurst rushed for 101 yards while passing for 238. North Park did most of its damage through the air, passing for 298 yards while rushing for just 80. Elmhurst won the turnover battle, coming away with four takeaways while giving the ball up just once, but the Bluejays struggled to sustain drives, converting just 2-of-16 third down attempts. (.125). Elmhurst was also just 1-of-6 on fourth down attempts.
 
Holloway led Emhurst's offense, carrying 15 times for 65 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Hernandez completed 19-of-42 passes for 219 yards while Jim Robley led Elmhurst receivers with five catches for 61 yards.
 
Borsch paced North Park's offense, completing 22-of-35 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns. Smith hauled in seven passes for 124 yards and two scores to lead the Vikings' receivers while Michael Soracco rushed 26 times for 92 yards to pace North Park on the ground.
 
Sean Jay led the Bluejays' defense with 10 tackles and an interception. Jim Phelps added nine tackles and recovered a fumble. Tristen James and Brandon Greer both added interceptions for the Bluejays while Lavor Little added a sack and forced a fumble.
 
Elmhurst closes out the 2018 season next Saturday, November 10, by traveling to Wheaton College.