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Football

Eagles run out of time against UW-River Falls in 20-17 loss

Box Score

ST. PAUL -- Northwestern College ran out of time in its quest for a comeback versus the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Saturday, losing its home-opener at Reynolds Field 20-17. The Eagles, who were down 14-3 at halftime, scored 14 fourth quarter points to pull within three with three minutes to play. The visiting Falcons were successful in running the clock out though, and NWC was left with a 1-2 record to begin the 2009 season.

River Falls' John Schimenz opened up the game's scoring with a three-yard run with 9:03 to play in the first quarter. Northwestern answered with a field goal, as Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry)'s (Rushville, Ill../Rushville Industry) three-pointer went through the uprights at the 11:43 mark in the second period. Schimenz added another three-yard run seven minutes later, and the Falcons led 14-3 at the break.

Chad Blair hit a 20-yard field goal with 8:09 remaining in the third quarter to boost the visitor's lead to 14 points. Northwestern answered with a Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) two-yard touchdown score, cutting the lead to 17-10.  After another Blair made another field goal at the 6:30 mark, the Eagles marched down the field, scoring on a 24-yard pass from Zach Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) to Crum.

River Falls' Ahmad Palmer crushed Northwestern's hopes of getting the ball back, as the junior running back and his offensive line singlehandedly preserved the Falcons' first victory of the season.

Both teams were even with 19 first downs in the game, while four minutes separated River Falls and Northwestern in time of possession. Each of the two teams passed for 170 yards, while the Falcons rushed for 56 more yards in a 177-121 comparison.

Tarter finished 17-31 for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while Long was the Eagles' leading rusher with 58 yards and a score on 17 carries. Crum caught three passes for 45 yards to lead NWC. Defensively, Luke Delain (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) was Northwestern's top tackler, tallying 11 in the loss. Kyle Nash (Fergus Falls, MN/Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Heritage Christian Academy) and Noah Hadro (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) each added seven tackles.

Palmer rushed 19 times for 116 yards to pace River Falls, who lost to No. 6 St. John's by four points in their season-opener two weeks ago. Quarterback Ryan Luessenheide finished the game 13-18 for 170 yards.

Despite the Eagles not coming away with a win, Northwestern freshman Peter Miller made the fans feel a little better as they departed the stadium. Miller won free tuition for a year at NWC after punt, pass and kicking his way to free tuition in the school's Football Frenzy event. Read the story about Miller winning free tuition here.

With the loss, Northwestern falls to 1-2 overall, while River Falls evens its record at 1-1 in 2009. The Eagles will kick off their UMAC conference schedule next Saturday, Sept. 22, when they host Crown College. The homecoming football game is slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Reynolds Field.
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