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MORRIS, Minn. -- 504 yards of offense and 38 consecutive points lifted the Northwestern College football team to its third straight victory on Saturday as the Eagles returned from Big Cat Stadium on the campus of University of Minnesota Morris with a 45-13 win. After trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, NWC scored seven straight touchdowns to lead 38-7.

Leandro Dower punched in a six-yard touchdown run to cap off Minnesota Morris' first drive of the day before Northwestern went on a scoring tear. The Eagles responded to the Cougars' drive with a nine-play, 54-yard drive of their own that ended with a Josh Young (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) four-yard touchdown scamper. The Eagles forced Morris into a four-and-out on defense, and Tim Youtzy (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) quickly tacked on a pair of touchdown runs from five and 15 yards out to give the Eagles a 19-7 lead to close out the first half.

Young found pay dirt again as NWC started the third quarter off with a score, this time from three yards out. Northwestern scored touchdowns on its first four drives and found the end zone in seven if their nine possessions. One or those possessions took just a few seconds, as Dave Kleiner (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville Academy) (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy) forced a Cougars fumble by quarterback Derrick Foss with Rob Reynolds (Rochester, Mich./Adams) (Rochester, Mich./Adams) nearby to pick up the ball and cross the goal line to increase the Eagles' lead to 32-7.  Reynolds, a defensive tackle, got his number called on offense a few minutes later, pounding through a one-yard scoring run to cap off the day's scoring at 45-13.

Northwestern's 504 total yards was a season best. The Eagles were very balanced on the day, earning 11 first downs on the ground and 12 through the air.  On the other side of the ball, the NWC defense played one of its best games of the year, holding Morris' rushing attack, which started the day averaging 168 rushing yards per game, to just 91 yards.

Josh Balzer (Shorview, Minn./Mounds View) (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) had one of his best games under center for the Purple and Gold, completing 13 of his 20 passing attempts for 251 yards and a touchdowns. Balzer had a nice 81-yard scoring connection with Chad Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) to wrap up the third quarter.  The quarterback, who threw nine touchdown passes and 20 interceptions throughout nine games in 2010, has nine touchdowns to one interception to his name this year.

Youtzy and Young combined for 181 yards and four TDs on the ground, averaging over five yards per carry. Freshman Joe Smith (Prescott, Wis./Prescott) (Prescott, Wis./Prescott) also saw time in the backfield, rushing six times for 52 yards.  Rusinkovich caught eight passes for 155 yards and a touchdown while Matt Dammann (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) had two catches for 53 yards.

Several Eagles shared in Northwestern's defensive success. Kendall Sommerlot (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) led the team with nine tackles while Kleiner had seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks on Foss.  Josh Swore (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) also had two tackles for a loss and four tackles overall.

Northwestern, who started out the season 0-2, has now won three straight while averaging just under 50 points per game in the process. The Eagles have suddenly found themselves in the mix of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) standings with a 3-1 league record, and will have an opportunity to earn a share of first place this Saturday when UMAC-leader College of St. Scholastica comes to Reynolds Field.  The Eagles are 2-1 all-time against a Saints squad that is in just its fourth year of existence, but NWC will have its hands full as St. Scholastica is averaging 39 points and 442 yards per game while holding opponents to 20 points and 100 yards less.  The Eagles will open the gates for the homecoming crowd with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.