Box Score

EUREKA, Ill. – The Northwestern College football team's return trip from Eureka, Ill. got miserably longer on Saturday as the Eagles lost a lopsided 40-14 game to the Red Devils from Eureka College. With the loss, NWC fell to 1-6 overall on the season and 1-3 in UMAC play.

The early theme in Saturday's game was all about field position. Eureka scored on its second drive of the game after a 20-yard punt by the Eagles' Josh Balzer (Shorview, Minn./Mounds View) (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) gave the Red Devils the ball at the Northwestern 48-yard line. In a few short minutes, the Eureka's Sam Durley hooked up with Dillon Reed for a 20-yard touchdown and Travis Huber's successful PAT-attempt gave the home team a 7-0 lead.

NWC had good field position on the ensuing kickoff as well, as Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) returned Huber's kick 29 yards to the 50-yard line. The Eagles needed just six plays to find the end zone, as a three-yard scamper by Dan Sunde put the Purple and Gold on the board. A 35-yard pass play from Balzer to Chad Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) midway through the drive set up the scoring opportunity, and Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry) (Rushville, Ill./Industry) brought the Eagles even with the Red Devils at 7-7.

The field position theme continued, as Eureka returned Elijah Buecksler (Farmington, Minn./Rosemount)'s (Farmington, Minn./Rosemount) already-short kickoff 40 yards to the Northwestern 30, which eventually resulted in another score as Durley connected with Wes Schmidgall for a 28-yard touchdown. Huber's point-after attempt failed, and the Red Devils led 14-7.

Instead of getting better, things got worse for the Eagles on their next drive as Josh Young (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) fumbled on his own 40-yard line. Eureka's Frankie Bray recovered the ball and ran it to the NWC 4-yard line. When it looked as though the Eagles were going to make a stop when they needed it most, Northwestern was whistled for pass interference on third and goal. Two plays later, Zach Burwell scored on a two-yard rush, capping off a 20-point first quarter for the Red Devils.

NWC was forced to punt on its next two opportunities, the second of which gave Eureka the ball back on its own 40-yard line. Durley found Schmidgall again, this time on a 37-yard pass, and the once-winless Red Devils were ahead 27-7.

The Eagles' Sam Lepa (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) saved his team from further damage when he picked off Durely inside the Northwestern 10-yard line. Cody Kelsa (Howard Lake, Minn./Rodgers) had difficulty handling the kickoff, and Eureka recovered the football at the NWC 23-yard line. The Eagles weren't able to gain any ground on the offensive possession, and Balzer was once again forced to punt from deep inside his own territory.

The Red Devils used all but 30 seconds off the clock on their next drive as the second quarter came to a close. The Durley-Schmidgall bond grew, and together they increased Eureka's lead to 33-7 at halftime.

The Eagles showed signs of life to start the second half, as a 24-yard kickoff return from Kelsa gave Northwestern some momentum.  Balzer hooked up with Crum for 24 yards before the quarterback completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Eric Baumgartner (Roseville, Minn./Homeschooled) (Roseville, Minn./Home School) to cap off a seven-play drive. Crum's extra point kick was good, and the scoreboard read 33-14.

The Eagles defense followed suit, as a fumble by Durley fell in the hands of Dave Kleiner (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy) (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy). Sensing urgency, Northwestern capitalized on a fourth down conversion on the drive before turning the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth and nine from the Eureka 22-yard line. With the turnover came a change in the momentum, and an elongated Red Devils scoring drive early in the fourth quarter squashed the energy on NWC's bench. Reed was once again the beneficiary of a Durley touchdown pass, and Eureka finished the game's scoring after 16 plays that covered 94 yards and ate 9:56 off the clock

Along with its kickoff team, Northwestern didn't get much support from its running attack. The Eagles amassed just 48 yards on the ground on 29 carries, averaging just 1.7 yards per carry. Balzer and the air attack produced 188 yards, but Northwestern was dwarfed by Eureka's 392 yards of total offense.

The Red Devils' Corey Dawson and Ethan Lord combined for 81 yards on the ground, while Durley completed 17 of his 29 passes for 289 yards. Schmidgall and Reed accounted for all five of Eureka's scores, while three Red Devil receivers had 60 or more yards in the game.

For Northwestern, Crum caught three passes for a team-best 76 yards. Rusinkovich added 42 yards on two catches.

Kleiner paced the Eagles on defense, racking up 11 tackles, six of which were solo, to lead the team. Wade Reisdorph (LaValle, Wis./Weston High School) (LaValle, Wis./Weston) was right behind his fellow defensive lineman with 10 tackles and a sack, while Ben Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) posted nine tackles on the day. Drew Duffy had a team-best nine tackles for Eureka.

With the Eagles headed into their annual UMAC Dome Day contest on Saturday, too many questions remain unanswered while the team greatly misses its mounting list of injured players. The 1999 season was the last time Northwestern experienced a six-loss season, having recorded .500 or better winning percentages in every campaign from 2000 to 2009. NWC will face Westminster College in the Metrodome in Minneapolis at 1 p.m. on Saturday in hopes of earning its second victory of the 2010 campaign. Fans can purchase tickets on the day of the event (games are on both Friday and Saturday this year – see the schedule here) at Gate B. Free parking is available in the Metrodome lot off of 11th Avenue South.