Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Playing on the road for the final time of the 2013 season, the University of Northwestern football team put up its seemingly normal early points, but also completed the task by keeping host-MacMurray College at bay in Saturday's 26-13 final. Running back Josh Sinnen (Waconia, Minn./Waconia)'s performance on the ground put the junior over the 1,000 yard mark for the season, marking the first time a Northwestern has had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2001.

While Sinnen himself never crossed the goal line against the Highlanders, he certainly had a large part in the Eagles' offensive attack. Sinnen rushed seven times for 33 yards in the first drive alone, setting up Jacob Fletcher (Moorhead, Minn./Park Christian)'s one-yard leap into the end zone as Northwestern was the first team on the scoreboard. Kevin Langmade (Prescott, Wis./Prescott)'s point-after attempt failed, leaving the Eagles with a 6-0 early lead.

Austin Stubbs (Pleasant Hill, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) picked up his sixth interception of the year in MacMurray's next drive, and Northwestern barely needed any time to score as Fletcher connected with Caleb Couwenhoven (Blaine, Minn./Fridley) on a 78-yard play that resulted in the Eagles' second touchdown of the game. Langmade's PAT shot went through the uprights this time, capping off the one-play, 12 second drive to put UNW up 13-0 on the last play of the first quarter.

Fletcher was forced out of the pocket in the Eagles' next possession and MacMurray's Tim Calvin made the quarterback pay with a fumble that found the hands of the Highlanders' Cliff Peterson. MacMurray successfully produced a score out of the turnover when Coy Dorothy's one-yard scamper cut Northwestern's edge to 13-6 after the home team was unable to convert on its own PAT.

Fletcher and the Eagles responded with poise, going to Sinnen often in the next drive. After the running back had five more touches, UNW was able to use Sinnen as a decoy as Fletcher completed a six-yard pass to Joe Sutton (Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde St. Margaret's) for the sophomore's first of two TDs on the day. The score came at the right time, as Northwestern kicked the ball back to MacMurray with just 20 seconds on the clock. The Highlanders weren't able to do much in that span of time and UNW led 20-6 after 30 minutes of play.

Sinnen had two rushes for 19 and 12 yards on his first two touches of the Eagles' first drive of the third quarter, but Fletcher was picked off by MacMurray's Taylor Hosta, giving the ball back to the Highlanders. UNW's Cody Kielsa (Howard Lake, Minn./Rogers) quickly put the ball back into the Purple and Gold's hands as he intercepted Dorothy on MacMurray's fourth play.

After the Eagles turned the ball over on downs, the Highlanders made things a little uncomfortable for Northwestern head coach Kirk Talley as Dorothy marched his team 76 yards down the field for a score that brought the host within seven points of UNW's lead.

Sinnen started UNW's drive with a big 34-yard gain on the ground, but Calvin got to the running back four plays later, forcing a fumble that resulted in a Highlander touchback as the ball was recovered in the end zone as the third quarter expired. Fortunately for the Eagles, Dorothy had consecutive incompletions from the UNW 34-yard line on third and fourth down, meaning Fletcher and Co. were back in business. Northwestern didn't disappoint, as he hit Sutton on a scoring play for the second time to ultimately account for the 13-point final buffer.

Dorothy had MacMurray inside Northwestern's 10-yard line in the Highlanders' next time out, but Langmade and Cameron Cox (Becker, Minn./Becker) sacked the quarterback for a loss of 16 yards on second and goal, preventing the home team from scoring any more points as the clock slipped under three minutes left to play. Sinnen got one more rush in for six yards before Jesse Donahue (Pine Island, Minn./Pine Island)'s 15-yard rush to midfield set the Eagles up in victory formation to end the game.

Northwestern produced 277 rushing yards throughout the afternoon, the Eagles' best ground performance this season. Sinnen finished with 187 yards on 27 attempts, while Donahue added an 8.8 yards per carry average on his four rushes. Fletcher completed 13 of his 19 pass attempts for 212 yards, connecting with eight different teammates. Couwenhoven's 78-yard catch put the Eagles sophomore at the top of the receiving yards list.

While UNW allowed 199 yards of rushing offense, the Eagles came up with big defensive plays at the right time. Cox finished with a team-high 12 tackles, with Ben Greener (Foley, Minn./Home School) adding nine.

MacMurray's Patrick Hall rushed 33 times for 167 yards to make up for a large part of his team's offensive production. Dorothy's passing line read 19 of 35 for 177 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Northwestern will prepare for next Saturday's season finale with a 5-4 overall record (5-3 UMAC) as the Eagles face Iowa Wesleyan College for the first time. The 1 p.m. kickoff is also expected to be the final game played on the current Reynolds Field as the Soar Campaign's plans call for a new artificial turf surface to be installed over the summer of 2014.