Box Score

GREENVILLE, Ill. -- The Northwestern College football team finished its 2012 season at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Victory Bowl on Saturday with a 28-27 overtime loss to Greenville College. The game's end result was all too familiar for many Eagles players and fans, as Northwestern's 14-0 halftime lead quickly disappeared and the Panthers emerged victorious, a trend that has proved to be true in the two teams' last three meetings.

2012 represented NWC's sixth trip to the Victory Bowl.

Northwestern, who was playing in its first overtime game since the 2007 season, scored first in the extra period, but failed to convert on its ensuing point-after attempt, leaving a window of opportunity open for Greenville to meet -- or beat -- the Eagles' score with one drive. The Panthers found the end zone on their fifth play of the overtime session and Josh Frewin's extra point attempt was good, winning the Victory Bowl for Greenville in the process.

Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) started the day in fitting fashion as the senior wide receiver caught a long pass from quarterback Josh Balzer (Shorview, Minn./Mounds View) before outrunning defenders in pursuit for an 88-yard touchdown on a two-play drive that took just 48 seconds off the clock in the second quarter. Northwestern got the ball back with just over five minutes left in the first half, and Lecheler crossed the goal line again, this time on a two-yard connection with Balzer, who, like Lecheler, was playing in his final collegiate game.

Clinging to a 14-0 advantage at halftime, this went south quickly for the Eagles in the third quarter. Greenville marched the ball 74 yards on 13 plays in its first possession of the second half and quarterback Brendan Chambers rushed nine yards for his team's initial touchdown. Northwestern went three-and-out on its next drive, giving the ball right back to the Panthers, who needed less than a minute to find pay dirt again as Chambers hooked up with Anthony Gonzalez for an 80-yard score. Freewin's kick attempt was good the scoreboard read 14-14 with a quarter and a half left to play in regulation.

After four straight drives that all went for four or less plays between the two teams followed, Greenville took a 21-14 lead on Justin Honeycutt's two-yard dash into the end zone. Northwestern still had gas in the tank though, as Tim Youtzy (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) wasn't ready for his senior year to be over either. Youtzy countered with his own two-yard scoring run and an Ethan Zepp (Grimes, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) PAT knotted the score at 21 points apiece at the 4:10 mark of the fourth quarter.

NWC forced Greenville to punt on its ensuing possession, but the Eagles were intercepted on the next drive, giving the Panthers the ball at their own 12-yard line with 1:22 left in regulation. Luke Sommerlot (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area ) picked off Chambers and gave the Eagles a chance with the ball at the 50-yard line and 51 ticks remaining on the clock. Balzer was unable to complete his first two pass attempts before being sacked and fumbling the ball back to Greenville on third down. The Panthers did quick work, setting Frewin up for a game-winning 20-yard field goal as time was about to expire. Frewin's attempt went wide right and the fourth quarter horn sounded, signaling that the game's end result was going to be determined in overtime.

Northwestern had the first chance to strike in the extra period, and strike the Eagles did, pounding the ball with seven rushes in eight plays, with Youtzy crossing the goal line on third and goal from the Greenville one-yard line to temporarily give NWC a 27-21 advantage. Then came the Panthers' turn, which resulted in a Chambers rushing touchdown before Frewin didn't miss on his second chance to win the game for the home team.

NWC finished with 327 yards of total offense, rushing for 132 yards while passing for 195. Greenville had a whopping 626 yards of offense, with Chambers passing for 310 yards and the Panthers rushing attack tallying 316 yards on the ground. Northwestern kept itself in the game with takeaways as the Eagles forced a pair of Greenville interceptions to go with two fumble recoveries.

Balzer wrapped up his NWC career with 195 yards and two touchdowns on 12-20 passing. The quarterback, who has started under center for the last three years, wrapped up his career with 5,356 yards -- third-best amongst all Eagles players past and present -- and 51 touchdowns. Lecheler finished as the Balzer's go-to receiver, catching seven passes for 127 yards and the two scores to finish with 963 yards this year, just 14 short of Chad Rusinkovich (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente)'s record-mark of 977 from 2011.

Youtzy was Northwestern's leader on the ground, rushing 17 times for 73 yards. Chris Simon-Wallace (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) had 51 yards on 14 carries, while Josh Sinnen (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) finished with 11 carries for 21 yards.

Defensively, for the Eagles Joey Bauman (Kerkhoven, Minn./Kerkhoven Murdock Sunburg) wrapped up a successful senior season with 16 tackles, 11 of which were solo. Luke Sommerlot (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area ) added 15 tackles, while Drew Stein (Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial) had 12 tackles. Lineman Josh Swore (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) was named the game's defensive MVP after the senior made eight tackes in the game, one of which was for a loss.

As is the case with the end of every season, Northwestern, who finished with the program's most wins since 2008, will have to say goodbye to its 14 seniors, many of whom have strongly contributed to the team's success for three years.

For news surrounding the Eagles football team throughout the offseason, stay tuned to nwceagles.com.