Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. -- Northwestern College evened its 2011 season record at 2-2 on Saturday with a lopsided Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) victory over the Highlanders of MacMurray College. The Eagles used a 28-point second quarter to lead 42-6 at halftime before a fourth quarter touchdown accounted for the final 49-6 score, making the eight and a half hour drive home go a little faster.
Northwestern had two defensive touchdowns as
Sam Lepa (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood) recovered a MacMurray fumble for a TD and
Luke Delain (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) returned a Cameron West interception 59 yards for a score. Eagles wide receiver
Chad Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) had two touchdown catches on the day, one of which was a 91-yard connection with quarterback
Josh Balzer (Shorview, Minn./Mounds View) in the second quarter to break the school's all-time record for the longest passing play. Rusinkovich finished with 158 receiving yards on six catches.
The win was the Eagles' second straight victory of 43 points or more after Northwestern sent Presentation College back to Aberdeen, S.D. last week with a 55-0 rout.
Balzer completed 12 of his 19 pass attempts for 212 yards and three touchdowns.
Jacob Fletcher (Moorhead, Minn./Park Christian) (Moorhead, Minn./Park Christian) also saw considerable time under center, finishing six of 12 for 46 yards.
Josh Young (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) (Shoreview, Minn./Concordia Academy) led all players with 69 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 attempts.
Before his pick-six at the end of the second quarter, Delain intercepted West midway through the first period and returning it 41 yards to set up a 17-yard touchdown run by Young. Between his two interception returns, Delain followed just Rusinkovich in all-purpose yards gained in the game with 100. No Highlanders player earned more than 54 all-purpose yards throughout the 60 minutes of action.
Next up for the Eagles (2-1 UMAC) is the University of Minnesota Morris, who will host Northwestern next Saturday, October 1 at Big Cat Stadium in Morris, Minn. at 1 p.m.
