Box Score

St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 15, 2007 -- A 43-yard interception return for a touchdown by Mike Polley (Plymouth, MN/Wayzata High School) (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) with just under two minutes remaining in the game gave Northwestern College their first win of the season, as the Eagles defeated conference foe Rockford College 23-16 in Roseville.

Down 10-3 at half, Northwestern took its first lead of the game with just over two minutes to play in the fourth quarter when Steven Boggess (Ginnell, IA/Grinnell High School) (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) rushed for a one-yard dive into the end zone.

Rockford came out of the box hot, scoring at the end of an eight-play, 58-yard drive. Northwestern plowed right back, but had to compromise with a 27-yard field goal by Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry) (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry) to make the score 7-3 in favor of the Regents. Rockford countered with a field goal of their own on the last play of the second quarter, giving them a 10-3 halftime lead.

The Eagles returned to the field rejuvenated after halftime, and showed it with a four-play drive that lasted 1:08, finished by a six-yard run by fullback Aaron Pennington (Inver Grove Heights, MN/Simley High School) (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) that found the end zone.

After Rockford scored again mid-way through the third to go up 16-10, Northwestern was in familiar territory as the comeback kids, as the Eagles hadn't led a game all season. Kirk Talley's squad made a poised recovery though, scoring 13 unanswered points on Boggess's run and Polley's interception return to claim a 23-16 victory.

Having been on the wrong side of a goal-line defensive stand by Augsburg last week, Northwestern turned the tables on Saturday, rejecting two goal-line pushes by Rockford that resulted in penalties and then a fumble on fourth down.

Northwestern only had eight first downs in the game, compared to the Regents' 18. Maybe a more impressive statistic was that Rockford had exactly 160 more yards of total offense, holding a 391-231 advantage. The Regents maintained control of the ball for seven more minutes, too.

Rockford noticeably minimized Northwestern's air attack, as Zack Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) threw for 88 yards on 7-for-18 passing. Jake Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clement High School) (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) was the Eagles' receiving leader, bringing in one catch for 57 yards.

Boggess ran for 91 yards on 20 carries to go with his score, while Pennington ran for 59 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Both men ran for personal season-highs in the game.

Defensively, Andrew Magaard (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie High School) (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) was the team's tackles leader for the third straight week, tallying 13 on Saturday against Rockford. Max Meagher (Paynesville, MN/Paynesville High School) (Paynesville, Minn./Paynesville) followed with 11, respectively. Northwestern recorded four sacks in the game – two of which were by Magaard and Meagher, while Ben Bauman (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) and Spencer Summerlot (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas) also were given credit for sacks.

After Saturday's UMAC conference opener for both teams, Northwestern (1-2, 1-0 UMAC) will hit the road next week when they travel to Fulton, Missouri for another UMAC contest at Westminster College. Game time is 12 p.m. on Sept. 22.

Rockford (1-2, 0-1 UMAC) will play at Maranatha Baptist next Saturday.