Box Score

St. Bonifacius, Minn. (Sep. 27, 2008) – The Northwestern College football team escaped with a 38-34 win at UMAC conference foe Crown College on Saturday, spoiling the Storm's homecoming in both teams' league opener. Quarterback Zach Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) led an eight-play, 55-yard scoring drive in the game's final two minutes to complete a come-from-behind victory.

Northwestern, who received the opening kick, found the end zone in less than two minutes, as Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry) (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry) hauled in a 39-yard Tarter touchdown pass. A successful PAT-attempt by Crum gave the Eagles an early 7-0 lead.

NWC's Ty Crabtree (Fergus Falls, MN/Hillcrest Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) picked off Adam Hayes on Crown's ensuing possession, but the Eagles drive ended in their own interception, as Kenny Morrison gave his team possession at the Crown 27-yard line.

Fast forward a total of three drives, when the Storm's Lemone Johnson rushed for the first of two touchdowns on the day. Johnson's score that tied the game at 7-7 capped off a six-play, 75-yard drive by Crown.

After a Zach Holsman (Hill City, Minn./Hill City High School) (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) interception nearly resulted in a defensive touchdown, Northwestern took the lead again with just under three minutes to play in the second quarter. Tarter found tight end Nathan Clanton (Minnetonka, MN/Minnetonka High School) (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) for a five-yard strike, and Crum's successful point-after gave the Eagles a 14-7 edge.

After starting at the next drive at their own 40-yard line due to an out-of-bounds kickoff by Northwestern, Crown cruised down the field with a four-play, 60-yard scoring drive that took a minute and 25 seconds. Hayes found Robert Yang for a 31-yard touchdown, once again tying the game at 14-14.

With 1:20 remaining before halftime, the Eagles marched down the field enough for Crum to successfully boot his fourth field goal of the year through the uprights, and Northwestern took a 17-14 halftime lead.

Crown matched the Eagles initial drive on their first possession of the second half, as Hayes ran one yard for another score to eventually put his team up 24-21. The Storm had two scoring drives in the game that lasted less than a minute and a half, with a third taking a mere three minutes.

After Northwestern scored on a Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) touchdown run in the third quarter, Crown opened up a 10-point lead after back-to-back scores with 6:04 remaining in the game. NWC responded immediately, as Tarter hit Crum on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage for a much-needed 68-yard score. Northwestern was still down by three points with just over five minutes to play.

Crown successfully converted one first down before the Eagles forced a turnover on downs, giving NWC's offense a chance to tie or win the game. Starting from their 26-yard line with 2:13 left on the clock, Tarter immediately connected with Clanton for back-to-back completions that put NWC at the Crown 37-yard line. After an Eagles timeout, Tarter ran three straight times for a combined 23 yards, setting Northwestern up for first and goal from the Crown 6. The junior quarterback then found Kyle Thomforde (Northfield, Minn./Northfield High School) (Northfield, Minn./Northfield), who had been rather quiet on the day, for a six yard strike. Another successful PAT-kick from Crum gave the Eagles a 38-34 lead and an eventual victory, as Crown ran out the clock on a couple of laterals that ended well shy of the end zone.

Crown out-performed Northwestern in every statistical category ranging from first downs to total offense. The Storm had 490 yards of total offense, while Northwestern countered with 434 yards.

Tarter finished with 270 yards on 18 for 29 passing, tying his season's high of four touchdowns. Last year's UMAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year also rushed seven times for 28 yards.

Crum had the game of his young career, catching three passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore also had a successful field goal and five converted PAT attempts for a combined 20 points. Clanton finished with 67 yards on five catches, while Long caught 29 passes for 46 yards. Thomforde finished with 29 yards.

Long gained 78 yards on 14 carries to lead NWC, while Rahnee Dennard (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) ran seven times for 56 yards.

Crabtree led the Eagles defense with 10 tackles, nine of which were solo. Freshman Luke Delain (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) added nine tackles, while Kyle Nash (Fergus Falls, MN/Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) added seven solo tackles.

Crown's Johnson, who was held to 77 yards in last year's game between the two teams, ran all over the Eagles defense, amassing 174 yards on 30 carries. Hayes was 21 for 30 with two touchdowns. Steve Boger had eight receptions for 83 yards for the Storm, who slip to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in UMAC play.

Northwestern improves to 3-1 (1-0 UMAC) with the win, having scored 38 points in three of their four games. The Eagles' last two games have come down to the wire, with Northwestern claiming victory on the road. Hopefully, next Saturday's game at Macalester College won't be a nail-biter in the final minutes for Kirk Talley's squad. The Eagles and Scots will face off 6 p.m. in St. Paul.