Running game throttles Eagles to 42-20 win over Crown

Box Score

ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College football team made it quite a homecoming to remember on Saturday, as the Eagles opened their 2009 UMAC schedule with a 42-20 victory over Crown College. Northwestern had its best offensive performance of the year thus far, combining for 474 total yards which included 274 rushing yards.

Crown took advantage of receiving the ball first, as the Storm opened the game's scoring as Callan McKinley caught a six-yard pass from quarterback Adam Hayes. A successful PAT attempt by Robert Yang gave the visitors a 7-0 lead. Northwestern answered immediately with a touchdown of its own, as Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) completed a five-play, 57-yard drive with a seven-yard scamper, making the score 7-7.

Just like the game began, Crown scored on its next possession to go up 14-7 after Tyler Hallblade ran up the middle for a two-yard score. The Eagles had a quick answer once again, scoring 45 seconds later on a 10-yard run by Long. A 48-yard pass from Zach Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) to Kyle Thomforde (Northfield, Minn./Northfield High School) (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) set up Long's run to wrap up the quick three-play drive to tie the score at 14-14.

NWC's defense took care of business on the Storm's next two possessions, forcing a punt and a turnover on downs. The Eagle offense capitalized on Crown's mistakes, adding two more scores on touchdown runs by Rahnee Dennard (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) (Mesa, Ariz./Brophy College Prep) and Dan Sunde (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) to go into halftime with a 28-14 lead.

Receiver Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry) (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry) helped Northwestern pick up where it left off at halftime, as the junior caught a nine-yard pass from Tarter at the 5:16 mark in the third quarter. After Crown's Hayes found Drew Milner in the final 30 second of the third period, Long added an insurance score for NWC in the fourth to wrap up the game's scoring at 42-20.

Northwestern's 274 rushing yards was the story of the game, as the Eagles not only posted a season-high statistical mark on the ground, but also out-ran their opponents by 84 yards. NWC's rushing total affected the cumulative- offensive yards category, where the Eagles owned a 474-353 advantage. Despite winning by 22 points, Northwestern was on the short side of the game's time of possession, controlling the football for an even 28 minutes.

Long and Dennard each ran for over 100 yards in the game. Long's 21 attempts for 121 yards netted three touchdowns, while Dennard's 14 attempts earned him a score as well. Sunde added 39 yards on eight attempts to go with a score.

Tarter completed 14 of his 16 passes for an even 200 yards, throwing for one touchdown and no interceptions. Thomfrode was Tarter's favorite target, catching six passes for 84 yards.

Defensively, three Eagles recorded 10 or more tackles in the game, including Andrew Magaard (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie High School) (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) who led the team with 12 tackles and an interception. Noah Hadro (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) had 11 tackles, while Luke Delain (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) tallied 10.

Hayes passed for 163 yards and two touchdowns for Crown, while Hallblade netted 110 yards and a score on 19 carries. Brandon Green and Mark Shea each had nine tackles for the Storm.

With the win, Northwestern evens its season record at 2-2 and begins its conference campaign with a 1-0 record. The Eagles will return home for their third straight home game next Saturday, Oct. 3, when they welcome Macalester College to Reynolds Field. Next week's kickoff will be an hour earlier than usual, with the game beginning at 12 Noon.

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Running game throttles Eagles to 42-20 win over Crown