CHICAGO, Ill. – The Elmhurst football team got off to a fast start with a first quarter touchdown drive, but turnovers proved costly as the Bluejays fell to North Park University 38-14.
 
Elmhurst (1-8, 1-7 CCIW) committed six turnovers in the contest, losing four fumbles and throwing a pair of interceptions. North Park (1-8, 1-7 CCIW) capitalized on the Bluejays' mistakes, scoring 28 of their 38 points off of Elmhurst turnovers.
 
Elmhurst jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after taking advantage of a North Park mistake. The Vikings muffed a punt at the 15-yard line with the Bluejays' recovering. Four plays later, Jake Tahaney hit Ben Fridrich from 10 yards out to put the Bluejays up 6-0 less than five minutes into the contest.
 
On the ensuing possession, North Park had a 69-yard drive stall out, settling for an Alex Santillian 32-yard field goal to cut Elmhurt's lead in half.
 
After both teams were forced to punt, the Bluejays put together another drive, marching 58 yards in 14 plays, but a field goal was missed, keeping Elmhurst's lead at just three points. The Vikings took the lead later in the second quarter after Gary Anish picked off a Tahaney pass, giving North Park the ball at the Elmhurst 45-yard line. Five plays later, Grant Borsch capped the drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Na'im Smith.

The Vikings took advantage of an Elmhurst fumble on the Bluejays' next possession. North Park recovered the ball at their own 36 yard line and promptly drove 64 yards in six plays, capping the drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Melvin Bob. The score gave the Vikings a 17-6 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

Elmhurst cut into the Vikings' lead just before the half, driving 53 yards in eight plays and scoring on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tahaney to Casey Dobczyk. The two-point conversion attempt was good, cutting North Park's lead down to 17-14 at the half.
 
A muffed punt by the Bluejays allowed the Vikings to add to their lead in the third quarter. Taking over at the Elmhurst 21-yard line, the Vikings scored three plays later on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Borsch. North Park added a touchdown drive at the start of the fourth quarter, and later turned an Elmhurst fumble into seven more points to pull away for the 38-14 win.
 
Elmhurst totaled 282 yards of offense in the loss, passing for 162 and rushing for 120. The Vikings finished with 392 yards of offense, rushing for 63 while passing for 392.
 
Tahaney completed 10-of-20 passes for 112 yards and two scores while Noah Henkel finished 2-of-8 for 50 yards. Brock Bethke led Elmhurst on the ground  with 44 yards on seven carries. Tahaney added 39 yards on 11 carries and Anthony Antrobus finished with 31 yards on seven runs. Dobczyk was Elmhurst's top receiver, hauling in five passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.
 
Borsch led the Vikings through the air, completing 23-of-34 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns. AJ Harris led the Vikings on the ground with 16 carries for 70 yards. Zach Hendrick caught five passes for 125 yards while Smith also broke the 100-yard barrier, finishing with five grabs for 105 yards.
 
Bryce Gable led Elmhurst's defense with nine tackles and also forced a fumble. Marco Huxhold added seven tackles, including a sack. Lavor Little and Noah Kotke added sacks for the Bluejays.
 
Elmhurst closes out the 2019 season by hosting Wheaton College next Saturday, November 16.