Box Score
ST. PAUL (Oct. 11, 2008) – Northwestern brought its season's most balanced attack to the field on Saturday, as the Eagles handed Martin Luther College a 45-10 loss. NWC's defense did their job too, holding the Knights to 201 total yards in front of a packed homecoming crowd at Reynolds Field. In addition to thousands of alumni and fans, Northwestern welcomed back several hundred men to the game who had played football at its Roseville campus to celebrate the school's 35th year of football.
Northwestern took control of the game almost instantly, scoring back-to-back touchdowns in the first quarter. Quarterback Zach Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) found tight end Nathan Clanton (Minnetonka, MN/Minnetonka High School) (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) in the end zone just two minutes into the game. Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) rushed for a 10-yard score eight minutes later, and two successful PAT-attempts by Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry) (Rushville, Ill./Rushville-Industry) gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead. Crum booted a 26-yard field goal through the uprights with 9:42 to play in the second quarter, increasing Northwestern's advantage to 17-0.
Martin Luther scored its first points of the game on the ensuing drive, as a 29-yard field goal by Lucas Gronewold cut Northwestern's lead to 17-3. Long and the Eagles answered, closing out the half with a four-yard touchdown run. The score capped off an 11-play, 62-yard drive that took 3:58 off the clock.
The Knights found the end zone on their first possession of the second half, as Aaron Voss scored on a three-yard run. Northwestern once again responded immediately, as Long caught a 27-yard pass from Tarter to increase the Eagles' lead to 31-10.
It was all NWC in the fourth quarter, as the Eagles capitalized on Martin Luther's mistakes for two more scores. Northwestern followed a Knights fourth-and-out with another Clanton TD reception from Tarter seven seconds into the final period. Safety Josh Young (Shoreview, MN/Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) took advantage of a botched option play by Martin Luther seven minutes later, recovering a fumble and running it 40 yards for the Eagles' final score, accounting for the 45-10 final.
Northwestern held a 22-13 advantage in first downs while possessing the ball for almost five minutes longer than the Knights. NWC rushed 43 times for 172 yards, while the Eagles' air attack combined for 290 yards. Martin Luther, who accounted for every one of their 365 total yards last week versus Minnesota-Morris on the ground, finished with 201 total yards. 112 of those yards came via the rush.
Young's fumble recovery upped the Eagles' plus-minus mark to plus-12 for the season. Northwestern has forced 16 turnovers in 2008 while only committing four of their own.
Tarter continued his impressive season, going 16 of 24 for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Martin Luther was able to keep the crafty quarterback contained for most of the game, sacking Tarter three times. Dan Halstensgard (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony High School) (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony) directed the Eagles' offense in the fourth quarter, completing his only attempt for 26 yards.
Fullback Dan Prusinski (Scottsdale, AZ/Fountain Hills High School) (Scottsdale, Ariz./Fountain Hills) was Northwestern's leading receiver, catching three passes for 64 yards. All three catches came on scrambles by Tarter where Prusinski started the play as a blocker before switching to receiving mode. Two of Clanton's four catches (51 yards) resulted in touchdowns, while Jake Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clement High School) (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) caught two passes for 56 yards.
Long led NWC's rushing attack, gaining 75 yards on 13 carries to go with two scores. Rahnee Dennard (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) rushed 10 times for 46 yards, while Tarter amassed 44 yards on 11 attempts.
Martin Luther quarterback Greg Holzhueter, who sat out last week's game at Morris with an AC shoulder separation, went 6 for 13 against Northwestern for 62 yards. Andrew Becker was the Knights' leading rusher with 46 yards on nine carries. Voss had 32 yards and a score on 14 attempts.
Defensively, freshman Luke Delain (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) led Northwestern with 10 tackles. Kyle Nash (Fergus Falls, MN/Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) and David Kleiner (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy) also added seven tackles apiece, while Ty Crabtree (Fergus Falls, MN/Hillcrest Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) had six tackes (1.5 for a loss) and a forced fumble.
Matthew Rothe tallied a game-high 14 tackles for Martin Luther.
The win leaves Northwestern as the UMAC's only undefeated team at 5-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. Martin Luther slips to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the UMAC after losing at Northwestern for the third year in a row. The Eagles have won four straight games and are averaging 37.0 points per game while holding opponents to 17.8 points per contest. NWC has almost assured itself of playing in the 7:30 p.m. game at UMAC Dome Day on Oct. 31, which features the conference's current Nos. 1 and 2 teams.
Northwestern will travel to Duluth, Minn. next Saturday, Oct. 18 for a 5:30 p.m. game against the College of St. Scholastica. It will be the first-ever meeting in the two teams' history, as St. Scholastica is in the midst of their inaugural season. The game will be played at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
