Box Score

DULUTH, Minn. (Oct. 18, 2008) -- Northwestern scored 21 second half points en route to a 35-14 win over the College of St. Scholastica in the two teams' first-ever meeting.  The Eagles' rushing attack picked up the usually-potent passing game, which had a rough night in the University of Minnesota-Duluth's Malosky Stadium.  Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) and Rahnee Dennard (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) rushed for over 300 yards combined on the night.

Neither the Eagles nor the Saints had a great start offensively in the game, as there were nine turnovers within the opening quarter, five of which were fumbles.  Northwestern found a way to score first though, as Long scored the first of two touchdowns on the day with a nine-yard run halfway through the first quarter.

After St. Scholastica's Travis Larson sacked NWC quarterback Zach Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) in the end zone for a safety, it was Dennard's turn to score.   The junior transfer capped off a seven-play, 58-yard drive with his seven-yard run, making the score 14-2 in favor of the Eagles at halftime.

Northwestern kept up with the ground attack in the third quarter, as fullback Dan Prusinski (Scottsdale, AZ/Fountain Hills High School) (Scottsdale, Ariz./Fountain Hills) dove in for a touchdown from one yard out.  Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry)'s successful PAT attempt was successful, increasing the Eagles' lead to 21-2.  Long put more points on the board for NWC six minutes later, as his 12-yard TD run with 2:20 to play in the third quarter, followed by another made PAT, made the score 28-2.

The Saints finally found the end zone 30 seconds into the final period on a one-yard run by Chris Henagin, ending a 53-yard drive.  After blocking the point-after attempt, Northwestern scored again with just under 11 minutes to go in the game.  Tarter, who has thrown for 19 touchdowns this year, did some damage on the ground this time, running 10 yards  to make the score 35-8.

Henagin turned a NWC fumble at the Eagles' 3-yard line into a St. Scholastica touchdown with 5:52 to play in the game, but Northwestern was able to run out the rest of the clock to preserve the 35-14 final.

Amidst five turnovers in the game, Northwestern's offense amassed 432 yards in the game, compared to only 176 for St. Scholastica.  341 of the Eagles' yards came via the rush, much in part to Long (171 yards, two touchdowns) and Dennard (144 yards, one touchdown).  Tarter finished 8 for 14 for a season-low 91 yards.

The NWC defense put on a superb performance, holing their first-year opponents to 67 yards rushing and 109 yards passing.  David Kleiner (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy) and Kyle Nash (Fergus Falls, MN/Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) each had nine tackles in the game, while Andrew Magaard (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie High School) (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) and four other Eagles had five or more tackles.  NWC had seven sacks on the night to go with three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

Larson, a defensive end for St. Scholastica, caused commotion for Northwestern's offense all night with four sacks (all of which came in the first half) and 13 tackles.

NWC (6-1 overall, 3-0 UMAC), which has won its last five contests,  claimed at least a share of the UMAC championship with the victory.  A win over Minnesota, Morris next Saturday would give the Eagles their 12th outright conference title and the team's 17th overall.  Kickoff for that game, which will take place at Reynolds Field, will be at 1 p.m.