ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst University football team defeated the North Park Vikings, 28-21, Saturday afternoon at Langhorst Field in front of a large homecoming crowd. 

Elmhurst (1-2, 1-1 CCIW) used strong performances in all three phases of the game to take their first homecoming victory since the 2016 season. The Bluejays scored 21 first-half points, and added seven more points in the third, while the Vikings (2-1, 1-1 CCIW) scored a touchdown in each of the second, third, and fourth quarters. 

Elmhurst quarterback John Odom had his best performance in a Bluejay uniform thus far, completing eight of 14 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Taveon Porter led the Jays on the ground with 79 rushing yards on 13 attempts, while Darius Lane totaled 77 yards on 11 attempts. RJ Anderson and Gabe Holtke each caught a touchdown pass, with Jacob Cockrell leading the way with 67 yards on a pair of catches. 

Defensivley, Talyn West led the way with nine solo and ten total tackles, adding an interception and a half tackle-for-loss, while Charles Scott had nine total tackles and a forced fumble. Elmhurst totaled eight tackles-for-loss in the game, and four sacks, with Mayon Lowery tallying two sacks on the game. Tre Jackson also nabbed an interception in the game. 

On special teams, Porter made a big play, running a kickoff back for a touchdown in the second quarter, totaling 129 return yards on the day, while punter Giovanni Orestano had a pair of punts downed inside the 20-yard line and Marco Davila going a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points. 

The Bluejay defense started the day with a strong stand, forcing a turnover-on-downs on the Vikings' first drive. Elmhurst punted the ball back on the ensuing drive, then stepped up big as Jackson grabbed his first interception as a Bluejay with North Park driving. After again punting on offense, West stepped up and cut down a pass for another interception, keeping the game scoreless after one quarter.

Continuing their drive to begin the second quarter, just two plays in Odom found Anderson for a short pass, where Anderson shed multiple tackles and found the pylon for the touchdown to put EU up, 7-0. The defense would force another punt from the Vikings, and the Bluejays would take advantage on the next drive, completed by a diving touchdown grab for Holtke to put the Jays up, 14-0. North Park would get on the board to cut the Bluejay lead in half, but Porter would run back the ensuing kickoff 97-yards for a touchdown, again extending the lead to two score, which would stand heading into the halftime break.

The Bluejays would recieve the ball to begin the second half, and proceeded to march 86-yards down the field, taking over eight minutes of clock down, resulting in a Lane touchdown run to put Elmhurst up, 28-7. The Vikings would score in the waning seconds of the third quarter to make the game 28-14 Bluejays with one quarter to go.

The two teams would trade possessions, but the Bluejays managed to take the clock down all the way to 4:09 left when the Vikings took the field on offense again. However, the Bluejays would force their third turnover on the day after Scott forced the ball out on a tackle and recovered the fumble, giving Elmhurst the ball back. 

The Vikings would get the ball back after a four and out for Elmhurst, and would end with a touchdown with 16-seconds left, with the Vikings needing an onside kick recovery to have a chance. The Bluejays would recover the onside kick and take a knee for their first win of the season, 28-21.

UP NEXT

The Bluejays head to Kenosha, Wis. next Saturday, Oct. 5 for a 1:00 pm kickoff against Carthage.

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