GREENVILLE, ILL - The University of Northwestern football team faced its first conference road test on Saturday, but came up short to the Greenville University Panthers by a score of 21-15. The loss brought Northwestern to a 1-2 record (1-1 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference), while Greenville improved to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the UMAC.
All 15 of UNW's points came in the first half, in which they held a 15-12 advantage at the intermission.
It was the home Panthers that struck first in this one, converting on 4th down deep in their own territory for an 83-yard touchdown to make it 6-0. The Eagles were able to answer, capping off a 10-play drive with a four yard
Gavin Welch (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) touchdown reception from
Taylor Lindahl (Watertown, S.D./Watertown). A successful
Ben Lyons (North Olmstead, Ohio/Ohio Distance & Electronic Learning Academy) kick gave Northwestern a 7-6 lead. The back and forth continued, as the Panthers quickly found the end zone next on a three-yard run to reclaim the lead, 12-7. That didn't last long, however, as three minutes later, Lindahl called his own number from four yards out and found pay dirt. A
Dom McDew (Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley) run on the point-after would conclude the scoring for Northwestern, giving them a 15-12 lead at the time.
In the second half, Greenville added a three yard touchdown (plus a successful PAT) and a late safety to put them ahead for good, 21-15.
Taylor Lindahl (Watertown, S.D./Watertown) finished his third career start with 115 yards passing and two total touchdowns (one passing, one rushing). His favorite target was once again
Gavin Welch (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo), who torched the Panthers for 81 yards and a touchdown on 12 receptions. One positive for the Eagles' offense was the progression of the running game. After mustering just 14 yards on the ground last week, the UNW ground attack was able to grind out 88 yards today.
Ethan Bush (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji ) led the way with 37 yards, while
Nate VanBeusekom (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) rumbled for 29 yards on just seven carries, finishing above four yards per carry on the afternoon.
Defensively,
Daniel Stratton (Lucerne Valley, Calif./Lucerne Valley) had a monster day for the Eagles, racking up 13 total tackles (two for a loss), to go along with 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. Ben Johnson and
Gideon Burnham (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson) both finished with nine tackles, while Johnson was credited with a sack and Burnham half a sack.
Beau Walter (Conway, Ark./Conway) was also active on the defensive side of things, carding eight tackles, one for a loss.
The Eagles will be back home at Reynolds Field on Saturday, hosting Westminster College at noon as part of Football Frenzy on the UNW campus. Stay tuned to unweagles.com or follow @unwfb on Twitter for any updates on Eagles football.
