ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern football team closed out the regular season with a 31-20 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) victory over visiting Eureka College Saturday on Senior Day at Reynolds Field. It is the second time in as many years that UNW has hit the eight-win plateau.
Nick Swore (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northpointe Christian) set the tone early, as the freshman intercepted a Dontai Johnson pass and took it to the house on the second play from scrimmage to give the Eagles an early advantage.
After the Red Devils knotted the score at 7-7,
Grant Schoen (Independence, Minn. /Orono) found
Zac Cash (Highlands Ranch, Colo. /Mountain Vista ) on a swing route out of the backfield and the senior did the rest, taking it 20 yards for UNW's second score of the day.
Holding a 14-7 advantage early in the second quarter, Schoen fired his second touchdown toss of the afternoon, finding
Joe Sutton (Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde St. Margaret's) from four yards out to put the score 21-7 in favor of the Eagles. With Northwestern driving deep into Eureka territory late in the first half, Jordan Blair intercepted a Schoen pass and returned it 93 yards to cut the UNW lead in half (21-14) heading into intermission.
With four minutes and change remaining in the third quarter, UNW once again made it a two-possession game as Schoen and Cash hooked up for their second touchdown connection, this time on a 16-yard throw.
Ben Lyons (North Olmstead, Ohio/Ohio Distance & Electronic Learning Academy) would then nail a 42-yard field goal as time expired in the third quarter and the Eagles pushed their lead to 31-14. Eureka added a score on the final play of the game, but it wasn't enough, as Northwestern prevailed with its eighth win of the season.
Reigning UMAC Defensive Player of the Week
Ben Greener (Foley, Minn./Home School) picked up right where he left off, racking up 15 tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
Grant Stroud (Moorhead, Minn./Hillcrest Academy) was also in double-digits, recording 11 stops.
Ayeir Karnwie-Tuah (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) had a pair of tackles for loss, including a sack to contribute to the defensive effort.
Schoen finished 13-of-27 for 210 yards and was responsible for three scores through the air. Cash hauled in two of those and finished the day with 68 receiving yards on four receptions. Sutton led all receivers, grabbing five catches for 73 yards, while
Daniel Petkau (Rib Lake, Wis./Rib Lake)'s three catches covered 60 yards.
BJ Foster (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) had a game-high 50 yards rushing on just five carries for an eye-popping 10 yards per carry average.
The Eagles close out the regular season with an 8-2 overall record and 8-1 mark in conference play. Eureka finishes its season 5-5 and 4-5 in the league.
