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Kyle Thomforde
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Football

Eagles rebound with 55-28 win over St. Scholastica

Box Score

ST. PAUL -- Kyle Thomforde (Northfield, Minn./Northfield High School) (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) had three touchdowns and 152 yards receiving as Northwestern rebounded from last week's loss to Martin Luther with a 55-28 win over St. Scholastica at Reynolds Field on Saturday. The Eagles left no questions unanswered, as NWC scored 28 unanswered points to start the game to fuel a total team effort. 

St. Scholastica, a team in its second season who played its first game on Northwestern's campus this afternoon, gave up three costly turnovers that were the game's early story. After punting in their first possession, St. Scholastica turned the ball over three straight times -- first on an interception, then on downs and finally a fumble. Northwestern scored as a result of two of those mistakes before owning a 35-7 lead at halftime.

Thomforde started his day off strong, scoring the Eagles' first touchdown of the day on a five-yard pass from Zach Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park). Rahnee Dennard (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) was responsible for NWC's second score, as the senior ran in from 10 yards out to finish off a quick three-play, 57-yard drive that took a mere 1:03 off the clock.

Thomforde and Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) made that 1:03 drive look like a long time, as each senior made the most of back-to-back one-play drives. Thomforde hauled in a 51-yard TD pass from Tarter that lasted eight seconds, while Long capitalized on a blocked punt, resulting in a six-yard run that took three ticks off the clock. With 7:54 remaining in the second quarter, Northwestern had had control of the ball for just five minutes (compared to 17:02 for St. Scholastica) while holding a 28-0 lead. 

St. Scholastica finally got on the board with 3:24 left in the first half, as Chris Henagin found the end zone with a three-yard run. The Eagles weren't content with finishing the half yet, and Dennard wrapped up a seven-play, 58-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run, giving Northwestern a 35-7 lead after 30 minutes of play.

NWC started the second half in the same way it did the first, scoring three consecutive touchdowns. Long ran in a pair of TD scores, including a 57-yarder, while Thomforde put his legs to work with a two-yard run of his own as the Eagles led 55-7 midway through the third quarter. 

With the home team's second string already having been on the field for quite some time, St. Scholastica found late life with a trio of touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Saints' Alex Duea blocked a Northwestern punt and fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown before Matt Holter's blocked field goal turned into a bizarre, yet successful two-point conversion as offensive lineman Alex Duea caught the ball and ran it across the goal line.

A seven-yard run by Henagin and a 29-yard scoring pass from Jake Olson to Tyler LeRoux wrapped up the game's scoring, and Northwestern wrapped up its 2009 home schedule with a 55-28 victory.

St. Scholastica actually won the final first downs count while holding on to the football for nearly 35 minutes. Northwestern's 188 rushing yards and 244 passing yards easily out-did their opponents' statistics, resulting in a 432-309 final count in terms of total yards.

Tarter was 11-13 for 220 yards and a pair of touchdown passes for NWC, while Long rushed 12 times for 109 yards and three touchdowns. Dennard added 55 yards and a pair of scores on eight carries. Joining Thomforde in the receiving corps was Jake Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clement High School) (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente), who caught a pair of passes for 36 yards.

Defensively, Noah Hadro (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) had 18 tackles on the day for Northwestern with 1.5 tackles for a loss. Andrew Magaard (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie High School) (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) added 13 tackles, while a trio of Eagles had eight. Kyle Nash (Fergus Falls, MN/Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy), Hadro and Zach Holsman (Hill City, Minn./Hill City High School) (Hill City, Minn./Hill City) each had sacks in the game. Magaard came up big several times for NWC's defense, breaking up several CSS passes, including one on fourth and goal. With a pick in the first quarter, Taylor Swanson (Monticello, Minn./Monticello High School) (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) became the Eagles' all-time leader in career interceptions, breaking Brian Budish's (1974-77) previous record of 16.

For St. Scholastica, Henagin rushed 32 times for 133 yards and a pair of scores. Matthew Johnson was the Saints' receiving leader as he caught three passes for 55 yards.

Northwestern gets back to its winning ways with a 4-3 record (2-1 UMAC), while St. Scholastica slips to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the UMAC. With its games at Reynolds Field wrapped up for the season, the Eagles will play all three of their remaining games on artificial turf. NWC will travel to Morris, Minn. next Saturday, Oct. 24, to take on the University of Minnesota, Morris in a 1 p.m. game before returning to the Twin Cities for its annual UMAC Dome Day game on Friday, Oct. 30. The Eagles will play Greenville College in the 8 p.m. contest at the Metrodome before wrapping up the regular season on Nov. 14 at the University of St. Thomas.
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