Game Notes at North Park

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Carroll's football team earned a convincing 49-14 victory against Millikin last week for the Pioneers' first conference win of the season. They hope that is the beginning of many, many more, as they will try to begin a run that will have them sitting towards the top of the CCIW standings at the end of the year. This weekend, the Pios travel to Chicago to take on the North Park Vikings, which enters this game with a 3-1 overall record, sitting one game ahead of Carroll in the conference standings (2-1 in the CCIW).

"It was good to get back in the win column in front of a great Homecoming crowd last week, and we had a lot of positives come out of that game," Carroll Head Football Coach Mike Budziszewski said. "Every week in the CCIW is a big week and this is no exception. North Park is a tough place to play and they're doing a really good job right now, so we'll have to go down there and play an excellent football game."

Saturday will mark the 46th meeting between these two teams in a series that dates back to 1960. The Pios won the first 12 meetings, which is the longest winning streak in the series, and have also won the last five, including last year's 41-27 win in Chicago.

Carroll will have to contend with a North Park passing offense that is off to a tremendous start, ranking third in Division-III with 335 passing yards per game, while also ranking fourth in the CCIW in yards per completion (12.5). The Vikings are second in the conference in scoring with 34.3 points per game, which ranks 52nd in D-III.

Leading NPU's offensive attack is quarterback Matt Eck. The senior is among the nation's leaders in virtually every passing statistic, ranking third in completions per game (24.8), 43rd in completion percentage (.664), seventh in total offense per game (339.0), fifth in passing yards per game (319.8), 14th in touchdown passes (13), and 46th in passing efficiency (163.3). He has also rushed for three scores.

"Their quarterback has a lot of experience and has two of the better receivers in the league to throw to, who he trusts," Budziszewski said. "We will need to have our eyes in the right spot and get pressure on the quarterback because he can also extend plays with his legs. We know they're going to make plays down the field, but we just need to limit the amount of those plays."

Lucky for the Pioneers, they have generated plenty of pressure on the quarterback this season, ranking second in the CCIW in sacks per game (2.5), which also ranks 51st in the nation. The Pio defense is fresh off a game that saw them register four sacks, one interception, and two fumble recoveries, one of which was returned 83 yards for a touchdown by defensive end Abe Stockwell.

"There were a lot of people that made plays for our team last week, which shows that we're playing complimentary football," Budziszewski said. "Our players understand that when they get an opportunity, they need to take advantage of that. We have a lot of guys playing really good football right now, so we have to continue to keep building as the season goes along."

Two of those players who are balling out for the Pios' offense as of late are Junior Tight End Reed Breckheimer and Sophomore Running Back Marcus Johnson. That duo combined for five of the team's seven touchdowns last week. Breckheimer scored twice, once through the air and another on the ground, while Johnson put an exclamation point on the win with 141 rushing yards and three TDs.

"Reed is a phenomenal football player and the more times he can touch the football, the better our offense will be," Budziszewski said. "Marcus ran the ball hard and made some tacklers miss, while taking advantage of mistakes that the defense made. Our plan was to wear Millikin's defense down, and the first play of the second half, Johnson scored on a 72-yard run."

The Pioneers had no shortage of big plays in their last game, scoring four touchdowns of 20 yards or more. They will hope for more than that this weekend, but know that it is up to them to create those opportunities.

"The big plays get everyone excited and they will come," Budziszewski said. "Defensively, Coach (Garrent) Holley is aggressive in our play calls and the players realize what their role is and what the goal is of the defense, which is to put as much pressure on the opposing offense as we possibly can."

Saturday's game will kickoff at 1 p.m. from Holmgren Athletic Complex in Chicago.