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Eagles' late-game rally falls short against Minnesota-Morris

Box Score

ST. PAUL -- Northwestern College's game against the University of Minnesota, Morris came down to the wire on Saturday, and the Eagles' failed two-point conversion attempt with less than a minute remaining allowed the Cougars to leave Reynolds Field with a 35-33 victory. Down 35-20 in the fourth quarter, Northwestern made a comeback with 13 unanswered points, only to fall three yards shy of sending the game's end result into overtime.

The Eagles had their best offensive game of the season, earning 18 first downs and 417 overall yards on a balanced attack. Northwestern ran for 194 yards and passed for 223 more, both season bests. Unfortunately, NWC couldn't stop Minnesota-Morris' ground attack, as the Cougars' Todd Gramenz rushed for 190 yards on 37 carries. Gramenz was explosive, bursting through the line and forcing the Eagle secondary to make a play.

Northwestern was the first team to score in the game as Eric Baumgartner (Roseville, Minn./Homeschooled) (Roseville, Minn./Home School) caught a 10-yard pass from Josh Balzer (Shorview, Minn./Mounds View) (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) in the Eagles' initial drive. Gramenz displayed his running ability in the Cougars' first drive, bringing Minnesota-Morris equal with a 30-yard touchdown run. Each team scored again in the first half - Northwestern went up 10-7 on a 29-yard field goal by Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry) (Rushville, Ill./Industry) before Morris answered again with a Derrick Foss one-yard run to lead 14-10.

Crum brought the Eagles within a point of Morris on another successful field goal early in the second quarter, this time from 33 yards out to cap off a seven-play, 56-yard drive. Chad Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) got in on the action six minutes later as he successfully dove to catch a 31-yard pass from Balzer in the end zone.

With Northwestern leading 20-14 at halftime, Morris took the lead on back-to-back scores by Ted Hoffman and Gramenz. Foss then found his brother Brandon in the end zone on a 15-yard pass play, bumping the Cougars' lead to 35-20.

Knowing they needed to act rather quickly, Northwestern called an end-around and it worked. Crum took the handoff from Balzer on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive and the UMAC's 200-yard dash champion out-ran his pursuers wearing maroon and gold for an 80-yard score.

Morris had a chance to stick in the dagger on its next drive, but Matt Privatsky's 39-yard field goal fell short and wide left set up an opportunity for Northwestern to tie the game. NWC received timely plays from its receivers and running backs on the drive with Rusinkovich, Garrett Ostrom (Woodbury, Minn./Stillwater) (Woodbury, Minn./Stillwater) and Dan Sunde (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) all helping the Eagles convert on third down. 

Josh Young (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) was the one to cross the line for Northwestern, setting up the two point conversion attempt with 56 seconds to go in the game. The Eagles called a fade pass to the left side to tie the game; Rusinkovich stumbled out of the gate and Balzer's pass - and NWC's opportunity - fell to the ground.

Balzer finished the game 20 for 35 with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.  Crum led the Eagles in rushing with his 80-yard play, while Tim Youtzy (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) followed with 79 yards on 10 rushes. Rusinkovich was the Eagles' leading receiver, catching four passes for 81 yards.

On the other side of the field, Derrick Foss was 7 of 14 for 102 yards for Morris, hitting Brendon Foss three times for 28 yards. Gramenz, who beat Crum to win the 100-meter dash at last spring's conference meet, was the star, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Defensively, Dave Kleiner (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy) (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy) and Alex Zeller (Plymouth, Minn./Armstrong) (Plymouth, Minn./Armstrong) paced Northwestern with 10 tackles with Kendall Sommerlot (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas) following with nine. The Eagles defense took a hit in Saturday's game when its leading tackler, Luke Delain (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) (Denmark, Wis./Denmark), left the game with a leg injury.

Josh Ledin and Nate Lund each had nine tackles to lead Minnesota-Morris, while Adam Gretkin and Mitch Zimmer each had eight.

While Northwestern had many positives to take away from Saturday's game, the team still only has one win in 2010, something Eagle fans aren't used to. NWC will take its 1-5 record (1-2 UMAC) on the road next week when Eureka College hosts the Eagles in Eureka, Ill. That game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
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