Box Score

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Northwestern College entered Saturday's football game versus Simpson College looking to avenge last year's 9-6 loss at Reynolds Field.  Those hopes were squashed, as the Storm took a 48-20 toll on the Eagles.

Simpson scored the first points of the game as Tyson Unkrich found Jake Rissi on a 38-yard pass, giving the Storm a 6-0 lead after the ensuing PAT-attempt failed.  The home team scored again in the second quarter, as Taylor Rogers was the recipient of another Unkrich pass, this one from 14 yards.  Northwestern had its chances to keep pace with Simpson in the first half, but a costly fumble and interception - both inside the Storm 10-yard line - had the Eagles looking up at their opponents after a 14-0 halftime score.

The bigger and more physical Storm poured on the offense in the second half, scoring five touchdowns.  Unkrich tallied his third passing touchdown of the day 92 seconds into the third quarter, as Ben Coy hauled in a 37-yard score.  Northwestern scored its first points of the day with 8:15 left in the third, as Jake Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clement High School) (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Zach Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park).  Simpson followed with another Unkrich pass before the Eagles' Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) scored on an eight-yard run to cut the Storm's lead to 28-13.

Simpson's Unkrich Show continued, as the quarterback started the fourth quarter with a 41-yard rushing touchdown, improving his team's lead to 35-13.  NWC's Kyle Thomforde (Northfield, Minn./Northfield High School) (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) ran back the ensuing kickoff 96 yards, capping the Eagles' scoring for the day at 20 points.

The Storm wrapped up the fourth quarter with a pair of unanswered touchdowns, sending Northwestern packing with a 48-20 final score.

Northwestern's 22 first downs were just two shy of Simpson's 24 on the day.  The Storm's 287 yards on the ground more than doubled NWC's 124, which accounted for most of the 536-350 difference in total yards.  Between a pair of fumbles and a pair of interceptions, the Eagles' four turnovers didn't help the team's scoring efforts.  Simpson, on the other hand, was perfect on the other side of the ball, committing no turnovers.  In terms of time of possession, the Eagles' held a 18-second advantage, controlling the ball for 30:09.

Tarter finished 21-33 for 226 yards and a touchdown for Northwestern.  The senior quarterback found Thomforde six times for 61 yards and Rusinkovich four times for 41 yards.  Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) led the Eagles' rushing attack with 54 yards on 13 carries to go with a score.

Defensively, Luke Delain (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) led NWC with 13 tackles, eight of which were solo.

For Simpson, Unkrich was 17-21 for 276 yards and four touchdowns through the air.  The quarterback rushed six times for 60 yards and two more scores, making that six on the day.  Coy was Unkrich's favorite receiver on Saturday, catching six passes for 93 yards.

With the loss, Northwestern evens its season record at 1-1.  Simpson, who lost to Wisconsin-Stout in Week 1, improves to 1-1 in 2009.  The Eagles will return home for the first time this season next Satuday, hosting Wisconsin-River Falls in what is sure to be an intense matchup.  Northwestern turned many heads in a 41-34 upset in River Falls.  The game is also the main event in NWC's Football Frenzy, an event hosted by the school's admissions and athletics departments where a student could win free tuition for a year at Northwestern.  Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Reynolds Field.