Box Score

NEW ULM, Minn. – A balanced attack on offense combined with a solid defensive effort gave the University of Northwestern its first victory of the 2013 season as the Eagles defeated Martin Luther College 15-8. UNW produced 454 yards of total offense while holding the Knights, who entered the game averaging 47 points per contest, to just 247 yards.

A pair of first half scores gave Northwestern a 13-0 lead after 30 minutes of play. A 14-yard connection from Jacob Fletcher (Moorhead, Minn./Park Christian) to Garrett Ostrom (Woodbury, Minn./Stillwater) gave the Purple and Gold, who was wearing its road-white uniforms, its first points of the game. Kevin Langmade (Prescott, Wis./Prescott)'s kick after put UNW up 7-0.

Zac Cash (Highlands Ranch, Colo. /Mountain Vista ) capped off an excellent 12-play, 75-yard drive that took over five minutes off th e clock towards the end of the second quarter as his six-yard scoring run boosted the Eagles' advantage to 13 with the point-after attempt failing.

Martin Luther finally got on the board with 5:30 remaining in the third period when quarterback Luke Rothe aired out a 50-yard bomb to Micah Plocher. The Knights successfully went for a two-point conversion to pull within five points at 13-8.

Despite a few lengthy drives, Northwestern wasn't able to find the end zone again as the Eagles relied on their defense to hold off the home team. UNW did just that, pinning Martin Luther on its own 1-yard line before forcing a two-point safety as a defensive hurry on the quarterback resulted in an intentional grounding call.

Austin Stubbs (Pleasant Hill, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) then secured the game's end result for the Eagles as his interception with a minute left to play gave possession back to UNW, who used two plays in victory formation to wait out the final seconds before celebrating the win.

Northwestern finished with 26 first downs on the day, 11 better than Martin Luther, who was held to just 68 yards rushing on 30 attempts. Eagles quarterback Jacob Fletcher (Moorhead, Minn./Park Christian) had his best game as a starter, completing 25 of 38 passes for 307 yards and the one touchdown. Fletcher connected with nine different receivers on the day, with Joe Sutton (Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde St. Margaret's) and Ostrom each catching six balls for a combined 122 yards.

Josh Sinnen (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) and the Eagles rushing attack also had its best game of the season as Sinnen rushed 24 times for 128 yards.

Defensively, Luke Sommerlot (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area ) led UNW with eight tackles, four of which went for a loss of 26 yards. Northwestern did an excellent job at the line of scrimmage, forcing its opponent to the ground behind the line of scrimmage on nine occasions with four sacks.

For the Knights (1-2 overall, 1-1 UMAC), Rothe's day finished with the sophomore quarterback going 19 of 33 for 179 yards, one TD and two picks. Rothe was also Martin Luther's top rusher, tucking the ball 17 times for a net of 35 yards. Plocher was Rothe's favorite target as his 10 catches yielded 179 yards.

Now 1-2 on the season (1-1 UMAC), Northwestern returns to Reynolds Field next Saturday for its homecoming game against Crown College, which will kick off at 1 p.m.