Today: Mar 28, 2024

Parks’ legendary season continues

Michael RiccioSports Editor

On a day when three of the four Southern teams won, a new mascot was unveiled, and the university’s 125th Anniversary Celebration continued as part of Homecoming Weekend, it was Eli Parks who shinned the brightest.

Parks had another field day against the winless American International Yellow Jackets, and led the football team to

a 48-21 win to improve their record to 4-3. Four rushing touchdowns and 161 rushing yards later, Parks saw himself atop the NE10 leaderboard in both of those categories.

Parks’ season started with four touchdowns and 127 yards on the road against Gannon University. He scored all four of the Owls’ offensive touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 55 seconds remaining in the game, to lead the Owls to a 35-32 win. In the process, Parks became the first Owl to rush for four TDs in a game since John Moscatel in 2013.

In the next game against Bentley, Parks ran for 135 yards in a loss, becoming the first Owl to rush for at least 100 yards in back-to-back games to start a year since Brandon Toles did in 2007.

Two weeks later, Parks ran for 140 yards in a win against Stonehill, then followed that up the very next week with two touchdown runs against St. Anselm.

In a road game against Assumption, the defending conference champions, he ran for 150 yards in an overtime loss, 131 of those yards during the second half and in overtime.

Parks’ Homecoming Game performance was his best of the season. A season high in rushing and receiving yards and his longest run of the season, 58 yards, kept the team in step with Pace University and Merrimack College in the conference standings. All three teams are 3-3 in the NE10, tied for fourth place. The Owls play Pace this week on the road and Merrimack on Nov. 10, the season’s final game.

The Owls program has been known for it’s rushing attack in this past decade, with multiple players having standout years.

In 2011, Rashaad Slowley set a school record with 29 touchdowns while running for 1,584 yards. He was named as an All-American and was awarded the NE10 MVP.

In 2013, Moscatel was also an All-American for the Owls. He finished the year 1,070 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns, and 820 kick return yards with 2,034 all-purpose yards.

With three games remaining, Parks still has a chance to add on to his impressive season, and still has a chance to claim an individual award in his senior year.

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