Box Score

ST. PAUL -- A Northwestern College win over Greenville College on Saturday would have given the Eagles the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) title outright, but instead, NWC will have to settle for a three-way tie atop the final conference standings after Greenville came from behind to win 27-16 at Reynolds Field.

Thanks to a Chris Simon-Wallace (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) 18-yard touchdown pass reception and a 20-yard field goal from Ethan Zepp (Grimes, Iowa/Des Moines Christian), Northwestern led 10-0 midway through the second quarter, but Greenville took advantage of an Eagles fumble on the Panthers six-yard line, marched the ball all the way back to score its first touchdown of the day on an 18-yard passing play on fourth down to cut the lead to 10-7 before halftime.

Northwestern possessed the football for nearly 22 of the 30 minutes of the first half, including 13 of the first quarter's 15 minutes. The Eagles had a strong running game going, posting 138 yards in the half.

NWC snuffed out Greenville's first drive of the third quarter before using nine plays to go 46 yards for another touchdown, this time with Josh Balzer (Shorview, Minn./Mounds View) finding Matt Dammann (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) in the end zone on fourth down and goal from the Panthers one-yard line. The Zepp kick attempt failed, giving the Eagles a 16-7 lead 4:45 into the second half.

Less than three minutes later, Greenville cruised down the field to come within three points, using two plays of 25 or more yards to set up Immanuel Gamble's one-yard run across the goal line. The Panthers point-after attempt went awry as well, meaning the score read 16-13.

Northwestern was on the move again during the ensuing drive, successfully finding positive yardage. The Eagles crippled themselves deep in Greenville territory again late in the third quarter, as Balzer's 31-yard pass intended for Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) fell into the hands of the Panthers' Anthony Moore, who caught the ball at the GC two-yard line. Eight plays later into the fourth period, Greenville took its first lead of the game on a nine-yard scoring run by Gamble.

Both teams forced one another to punt, with the Eagles having to punt again with 7:38 left in the game. Greenville rushed four straight times before quarterback Brendan Chambers hooked up with Cody Hutchin on an 11-yard touchdown play, putting NWC against the wall at 27-16. The Eagles had two more shots on offense, with both coming up empty on fourth down opportunities before time expired on Northwestern's regular season.

The Eagles, who went in to the game down three starting offensive linemen from the week before, had more first downs, more yards, and seemingly more everything else but points in the game. Northwestern finished with 440 total yards, 223 of which came on the ground. While NWC finished four of seven on fourth down, Greenville one-upped the home team, converting on all four of its fourth down chances, including the second quarter touchdown.

Balzer finished 15 of 37 for 217 yards and two TDs, with freshman Joe Sutton (Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde St. Margaret's) catching six passes for 108 yards. Josh Sinnen (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) was the Eagles' leading rusher at 70 yards, while Tim Youtzy (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) and Simon-Wallace followed with 61 and 51 yards. Simon-Wallace's touchdown-scoring play in the first quarter provided quite a highlight for fans in attendance, as the junior hurdled a defender before hauling three Panthers across the goal line with him.

Defensively, Kendall Sommerlot (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) had 11 tackles to lead Northwestern. Drew Stein (Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial) had a standout day as well with nine tackles, six of which were solo to go with two tackles for a loss.

The Eagles' eight-game winning streak came to an end, but NWC still finished its regular season with an 8-2 mark, posting two more wins than in 2011 and seven more than 2010. The three-team tie, with Greenville, Northwestern and St. Scholastica all beating one another this year, forced a random draw out of a hat to determine which team would advance to the NCAA playoffs, with St. Scholastica winning that draw.

The Eagles' postseason, which would mean a trip to the NCCAA Victory Bowl, has yet to be determined. Details regarding that game will be announced as they become available.