For Immediate Release
September 13, 2003

Maroons Rout North Park 41-7 in Opener

Elmhurst, Ill. -- Senior tailback Sam Owens (Calumet Park, Ill./ Shepard) rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns to lead the University of Chicago to a 41-7 win over North Park University in non-conference football action Saturday at Elmhurst College's Langhorst Field.

Owens, who carried 23 times, scored on runs of 1, 3, and 52 yards as the Maroons (1-0) opened their 2003 campaign with a victory for the fourth consecutive season. As a team, Chicago gained 251 yards on the ground on 44 attempts.

North Park (1-1) scored the only points of the first quarter on a 1-yard run by quarterback Phil DeWald.

Chicago scored on its first three possessions of the second stanza en route to taking a 21-7 lead at the intermission. The Maroons evened the score at 7-7 on a 3-yard run by Owens at the 12:41 mark, then took the lead for good at 14-7 on a 1-yard run by junior quarterback Tony Pulice (DeWitt, Mich./ DeWitt).

On Chicago's next drive, Owens carried the ball on the first five plays as the Maroons moved from their own 36-yard line to the Vikings' 15. On the sixth play of the drive, junior tailback Frank Brown (Chicago Heights, Ill./ De La Salle) scored from 15 yards out with 5:52 left in the second quarter.

On the Maroons' first play of the second half, Owens rushed 52 yards for his second touchdown of the day. The rush was the longest of Owens' career. He scored his final touchdown of the afternoon on a 1-yard plunge late in the third period.

Chicago capped the scoring with 2:06 remaining in the contest, when freshman defensive end James Viccaro (Riverside, Ill./ Riverside-Brookfield) recovered a blocked punt in the North Park end zone.

In his first collegiate start, Pulice competed 11-of-19 passes for 162 yards with two interceptions. Chicago amassed 420 yards of total offense and held the ball for 32:06 to 27:54 for North Park.