Box Score ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College football team picked up a much-needed victory on Saturday afternoon, shutting out Presentation College 55-0 at Reynolds Field. The Eagles scored their first win in eight games dating back to midway through the 2010 season against a team that was playing its first-ever road game. The shutout was Northwestern's first since October 20, 2007 when the Eagles beat Trinity Bible College, who beat Presentation on Week 1, 65-0.

The score was hardly a reflection of the game until the third quarter, as Northwestern held on to a slim 7-0 lead until the 5:31 mark of the first half. Tim Youtzy (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) put the Eagles on the board after catching a 16-yard pass from Josh Balzer (Shorview, Minn./Mounds View) (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) that resulted in a touchdown. Presentation was amidst a 15-play drive that lasted more than seven and a half minutes when NWC's Luke Delain (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) picked off Cullen O'Brien's throw, setting up a 60-yard touchdown run by Josh Young (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) on the very next play to put the Eagles up 14-0. The Saints went three and out on their next drive and Balzer and tight end Matt Dammann (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) hooked up for a 40-yard scoring connection to send the Purple and Gold into halftime with a 20-0 lead.

Northwestern took advantage of a Presentation fumble on the first kickoff of the second half, giving the Eagles first and 10 on the Saints' 15-yard line. Youtzy took a one-yard rush into the end zone on NWC's fifth play of the drive. Presentation continued to spiral on offense, as Ben Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) intercepted O'Brien's pass on the Saints' second play of the next drive, giving Balzer another opportunity to throw a touchdown pass, this time to Chad Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente), to boost the lead to 34-0.

Young picked up another rushing touchdown in the third quarter after Balzer found Rusinkovich for a 33-yard play on fourth down from the Saints 44-yard line, giving the Eagles 21 points in the quarter and a 41-0 advantage on the scoreboard. Northwestern wasn't finished yet as the home team scored two more times in the fourth period to win 55-0. Second team quarterback Jacob Fletcher (Moorhead, Minn./Park Christian) (Moorhead, Minn./Park Christian) found freshman tight end Jeff Schaper (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) for a 10-yard connection before rookie Josh Sinnen (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) broke free for a 69-yard touchdown run to cap off the day's scoring.

Northwestern (1-2, 1-1 UMAC) amassed 491 yards of total offense on the day, 19 yards more than its first two games combined. The Eagles rushed for 224 yards while passing for 267. The NWC defense held Presentation to 207 total yards.

Balzer completed 13 of his 16 passing attempts for 178 yards and three touchdowns, while Fletcher was a perfect 7-for-7 for 89 yards and a TD. Rusinkovich and Zach Markwith (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) (Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis) each caught four passes, with Rusinkovich earning 71 yards and a score. On the ground, Young rushed 10 times for 119 yards and two scores. Sinnin and Youtzy each ran the ball nine times, with Sinnen earning 92 yards and Youtzy 18.

Defensively, Josh Swore (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) was all over the field from his defensive line position, earning a game-high 12 tackles to go with three quarterback hurries. Kassidy Cook (Postville, Iowa/Postville) (Postville, Iowa/Postville) followed with nine tackles, while Delain had eight.

Presentation wore its road uniforms for the first time after kicking off its inaugural season on September 3. The Saints were forced to punt eight times while controlling the ball for 31:01, nearly two minutes longer than Northwestern. Presentation finished 3-for-15 on third down, while the Eagles had a 50 percent success rate when faced with third down.

O'Brien completed 14 of 28 passes for 120 yards while leading the Saints in rushing with 58 yards on 15 carries. Wade Brander and Derek Buthe each had seven tackles to lead Presentation (0-2, 0-1 UMAC).

Northwestern will celebrate for 48 hours before returning to the practice field to prepare for a road trip and another Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) game at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois next Saturday, September 24, at 1 p.m.