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NPU Football Looks Forward to New Stadium, Rebuilt Team
CHICAGO, IL (September 2, 2003) - North Park University's football program
will be getting a physical upgrade this year, as workers tore down its
antiquated stadium recently and are building a new facility with a pro
turf football field as part of the future Holmgren Athletic Complex.
Head coach Robin Cooper understands the rebuilding process on the field
as well. He was coaching at the University of Evansville (Indiana) when
the school dropped its football program in 1999. Cooper then headed up a
new program at College of DuPage, located in Lombard, Illinois. After
posting a 13-8 record in two seasons, Cooper came to Chicago to aid
NPU's football rebuilding effort, but with no returning offensive
starters, his 2001 Vikings were starting from scratch as they put in a
new system.
Last year, NPU won just one of 10 games (0-7 in the CCIW), but the
Vikings got standout performances from running back Josh Gruenewald and
wide receiver Jon Harris. Both are back, as is three-year starting
quarterback Phil DeWald, giving NPU a few building blocks offensively
while the team's large senior class give the Vikings more experience
than in recent years. Cooper believes that bodes well for a program that
hopes to give fans a refreshingly positive look - field and all - in the
coming years.
"No matter what happens, it's a positive with the new field and with the
way the campus looks (after a recent landscaping overhaul), but I think
everything is on the upswing," said Cooper in assessing his team's
potential for improvement. "We've got 14 seniors and a good group of
kids. I think we're making progress, although this is a hard league to
break into the upper echelon."
NPU's ground attack should be solid as Gruenewald ran for 741 yards on
171 carries in 2002, including 198 in his team's lone win last year
against Eureka College. Teammate Dante Britten was a defensive back for
most of last season but ran for 447 yards as NPU's top running back in
2001. Both are very fast too--with sophomore Ahkeem Waterford, the NPU's
running back corps formed three-fourths of NPU's sprint relay team
during track and field season last spring.
Cooper said that a physical upgrading effort would need to occur in the
North Park offensive and defensive lines if the Vikings are to challenge
for a conference title. Progress is being made, however, as the veteran
coach stated, "We've never had this kind of depth at offensive line."
Two returning starters, seniors Kurt Rowells and Chris Pedersen, will
play left tackle and center respectively on Cooper's offensive line.
Juniors Myk Hamer and Shane Petrelli bring added bulk, tipping the
scales at 300 pounds or better, and a talented group of freshmen that
are challenging for playing time includes Nnamdi Ugbaja, Marcus
Thompson, Jonathan Weaver, Steve Tracy, and Bob Needleman.
DeWald has thrown for more than 2,000 yards in his NPU career and his
athleticism (162 yards rushing in 2002) is valuable. He has an All-CCIW
wide receiver in Harris, who totaled 795 yards and five touchdowns on 56
catches, the third best reception total from a freshman in Division III
football last year. Other receivers who will play extensively are
sophomores Chris Wada, Sherman Gant and senior Nick Zayas, who also
played baseball for the Vikings last year. Returnees James Trotta and
Quintrell Porter, a converted quarterback who had three touchdown
receptions last fall, will play tight end.
Defensively, NPU will hope that seniors Alfredo Cruz and Jason Ellerman
and a pair of sophomore linebackers, Jonathan Schwan and Adam Ziemba,
will help the Vikings stay competitive. Cruz may be the most versatile
defender at NPU, Cooper said. Schwan and Ziemba come from highly touted
football programs in the Chicago suburbs.
Ellerman, Andy Baran and transfer Eddie Thompson will be the team's
starting down linemen. Pete Hobbs (Tigard Covenant Church, Tigard,
Oregon), Greg Foster, Dan Richmond, George Balentine, James Mahon,
Brandon Miller, Brad Leshinske and Jimmie Ford will also play
extensively, Cooper added.
A strong contingent of defensive backs includes Scott Sousa of Hilmar
Covenant Church in central California, who returned two interceptions
for touchdowns last year. Juniors Mike Rotenberry, a transfer from
College of DuPage, Leonard Wilson and converted wide receiver Quinton
Wilks will roam the defensive backfield with talented freshmen Harold
Robinson, Stephan Fouche and Kevin Parker.
NPU's special teams play gets a boost from long snapper Mike Crittendon,
a baseball player at the school, and Moorpark Community College transfer
Christian Thomsen. Thomsen averaged 35 yards per punt and made 9 of 13
field goals and 43 of 44 extra points while earning All-Conference
honors in southern California.
From 1971-74, Cooper played in the CCIW, quarterbacking Illinois
Wesleyan University (IWU) to a co-championship his senior year. Two
other quarterbacks of his era, Wheaton College's Mike Swider and
Millikin University's Doug Neibuhr, and former teammate Norm Eash
coaches at IWU.
Cooper hopes to enjoy the coaching battles as he did as a player, but
thus far his teams have not beaten any of those schools since he
arrived. For now, he is focused on beating Greenville College in
Saturday's noon season opener at Greenville's field.
NPU's season-opening home game on September 13 (at 1 p.m.) versus the
University of Chicago has been moved to Elmhurst College. Construction
workers completely demolished the field where the Vikings play football,
including the stands and baseball backstop, earlier this summer. The new
facility is expected to be one of the best playing fields in the College
Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).
NPU hopes its new field will be ready on October 4 for its 1 p.m. CCIW
opener against Illinois Wesleyan. A dedication for the new complex is
scheduled for October 25 as the Vikings play a 2 p.m. Homecoming game
against Elmhurst College.
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