Box Score

St. Paul, Minn., Oct. 6, 2007 – The Northwestern College football team improved their Upper Midwest Athletic Conference record to a perfect 4-0, defeating Martin Luther College by a score of 53-20 at Reynolds Field. Both teams were undefeated in conference play entering Saturday's Homecoming contest, but the Eagles and their 561 total yards made a clear point to the rest of the conference.

Josh Lundeen (Princeton, MN/Faith Christian High School) (Princeton, Minn./Faith Christian) become Northwestern's all-time receiving yards leader in the game, recording 133 yards on four catches to go with two touchdowns, increasing his career receiving yards total to 1,967.

Lundeen caught a Zack Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) screen pass in Northwestern's second play from scrimmage, taking it 55 yards for a quick score to put the Eagles on the board first. Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry)'s (Rushville, Ill/Rushville Industry) successful PAT attempt put Northwestern up 7-0 before 30 seconds had ticked off the clock.

Martin Luther scored their first points of the game with 8:34 left in the first quarter, as Greg Holzhueter hit Caleb Free for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Jacob Schwartz's missed PAT made it a 6-7 score.

The Eagles immediately responded with another touchdown of their own when Aaron Pennington (Inver Grove Heights, MN/Simley High School) (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) caught a 11-yard pass from Tarter. Another Crum PAT completed a ten-play, 58-yard drive for Northwestern, who led 14-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Martin Luther's Joel Voss contributed to what seemed to be a close game, rushing one yard to keep the Knights in it at 12-14. The Knights' momentum didn't last long though, as Mike Polley (Plymouth, MN/Wayzata High School) (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) took the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for Northwestern's third touchdown of the game.

Polley's touchdown was the first of five in a row for the Eagles, who saw James Grant (Tacoma, WA/Franklin Pierce High School) (Tacoma, Wash./Franklin Pierce), Lundeen, Jeremy Daggett (Winterset, IA/Winterset High School) (Winterset, Iowa/Winterset) and Pennington all score. Lundeen's 52-yard catch for a score put him over Josh Mabe's mark of 1,909, set from 1995 to 1998.

Dan Prusinski (Scottsdale, AZ/Fountain Hills High School) (Scottsdale, Ariz./Fountain Hills) added yet another score in the fourth quarter, giving the Eagles their total of 53 for the game.

The Knights' Alexander Hunt caught a 37-yard Holzhueter pass for a touchdown with 13:07 left in the contest, but the game's conclusion seemed imminent as Northwestern's offense proved to be too much for Martin Luther.

Tarter was 12-for-21 with three touchdown passes on the day, netting 249 yards in the air. Running back Steven Boggess (Ginnell, IA/Grinnell High School) (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) also threw for a 35-yard touchdown pass, making him 2-for-2 passing on the year with two touchdowns.

Four different Eagles – including Boggess - rushed for over 50 yards in the game, producing a total of 277 yards on the ground in 59 attempts. Grant was the Eagles' leader with 67 yards on 12 rushes.

As NWC's offense produced a season high 561 yards for the game, so too did the Eagle defense perform well, yielding 282 yards, including a mere 77 in the second half. Defensive Coordinator Matt Moore's crew recorded four sacks, three fumble recoveries and an interception.

Kyle Nash (Fergus Falls, MN/Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Academy) was Northwestern's tackles leader with nine, while freshman Jordan Davis (Blaine, MN/Centennial) (Blaine, Minn./Centennial) contributed eight in his first start this year. Andy Magaard (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) intercepted Holzhuter in the second half to go with his four tackes. Nash had a sack, while Nate Fehr (Omaha, NE/Millard North High School) (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) and Matt Kramer (Stratford, Wis./Stratford High School) (Stratford, Wis./Stratford) shared a sack.

With the win, the Eagles (4-2, 4-0 UMAC) take sole ownership of the top spot in the UMAC's North Division. The journey is far from over though, as Head Coach Kirk Talley's bunch has their sights set on the UMAC Dome Day Championship Game, which features the top teams from the North and South Divisions on Oct. 26.

Northwestern will take their four-game winning streak on the road next week, traveling to St. Bonifacius to play conference foe Crown College for a 2 p.m. game. Martin Luther hosts Minnesota-Morris at 1 p.m. next Saturday.