ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Northwestern football team continued Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play with their third consecutive road contest Saturday evening. The Eagles came out on top over the Crown College Storm with a final score of 38-18. The win improved Northwestern to 2-2 overall, 2-0 in the UMAC. Crown dropped to 0-4 overall, 0-2 in conference play.
 
It was the Eagles who struck first as Josiah Donat (Elk River, Minn./Washtenaw Christian Academy) connected on a 41-yard field goal attempt to give Northwestern a 3-0 lead with over five minutes remaining in the first quarter. UNW never trailed the remainder of the game.
 
Northwestern put together their strongest offensive quarter of the season in the second 15 minutes, tacking on 21 points. Crown punter Isaiah Zepeda fumbled a snap and was tackled for a 13 yard loss by Jacob Emley (St. Peter, Minn.), setting the  Eagles up for a first and goal at the 1 yard line. Senior quarterback Taylor Lindahl (Watertown, S.D./Watertown) carried the ball into the end zone, followed by a Donat PAT to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead.
 
The Storm answered back when they put together two big passing plays to score on a Jared Gilmore to Dominique Guy 26-yard touchdown pass. Jarodrick Barne blocked the PAT to hold the score at 10-6.
 
Northwestern extended their lead following the Crown touchdown as Lindahl completed a 24-yard pass to Evan Pruitt (Temecula, Calif./Rancho Christian High School) followed by a 30-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Welch (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) to take a 17-6 lead with four minutes remaining in the half. Crown answered back yet again on another Gilmore to Guy touchdown pass, closing the scoring gap to 17-12 (after another missed kick attempt).
 
The Eagles scored their third touchdown of the quarter on a Payton Bowdry (Minneapolis, Minn./South) 36-yard touchdown rush, his second this season to go up 24-12 at the half.
 
Northwestern was first to score following intermission on a Lindahl season-best 52-yard touchdown pass to Evan Pruitt (Temecula, Calif./Rancho Christian High School). Donat's kick was good to give the Eagles a 31-12 lead. Northwestern and the Storm added one touchdown a piece in the fourth quarter for a game final, 38-18.
 
Evan Pruitt (Temecula, Calif./Rancho Christian High School) scored two touchdowns and hauled in seven receptions that covered a team-high 169 yards, while Gavin Welch (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) grabbed three Lindahl passes for 111 yards and one TD. Nate VanBeusekom (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) ran 12 times for 64 yards. Bowdry rushed eight times for a gain of 48 yards and a touchdown.

On the defensive side of the ball, George Obitz (Florence, Ariz./Florence) led the Eagles with 11 tackles. Ryan Van Maanen (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian), Jadon Hatt (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) and Carter Michaelson (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul) each picked off a Crown pass to record their first interceptions this season. Seth Johnson (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian) had two sacks (23 yards).

Northwestern will return to Reynolds Field next week to host a Saturday Homecoming match-up against MacMurray. Kickoff is slated for noon.