GREENVILLE, Ill. – The University of Northwestern football team traveled to Illinois this weekend to face the UMAC-leading Greenville Panthers on the road. The underdog Eagles fought hard, matching or outscoring the Panthers in three quarters, but ultimately fell 35-23 on Saturday afternoon.
 
UNW opened the game with a statement on defense as Jacob Emley (St. Peter, Minn./St. Peter) picked off the Panthers quarterback and returned it 47-yards to the house for a pick-six. The play gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, energizing the team right out the gate.
 
Greenville would recover from their early mistake to put together a 10-play, 66-yard drive that culminated in a four-yard touchdown run with seven minutes remaining in the first.
 
The second quarter was the lone quarter in which Northwestern was outscored by Greenville. Tied 7-7 with under six minutes remaining in the half, the Panthers' Paul Garrett ran 44-yards to give Greenville the lead. Later, with just over one-minute left, Adrian Hinton capped off a 94-yard drive with another Panther touchdown to send the game to halftime 21-7 in Greenville's favor.
 
After the half, Greenville added a 10-yard touchdown through the air to go up 28-7. The Eagles, however, kept fighting and cut into the Panther lead with 2:45 left in the third as Caleb Sieben (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Nick Drinken (Randolph, Minn./Randolph) to finish a 10-play, 79-yard drive.
 
Trailing 28-14 in the fourth quarter with their defense on the field, George Obitz (Florence, Ariz./Florence) made a huge play for the Eagles by forcing a fumble that Jefferey Marvicka II recovered on the Panthers' own 17-yard line. The offense capitalized on the opportunity the defense gave them as Drinken found Isaac Loe (Cottonwood, Minn./Lakeview) on a 4^th and Goal for a touchdown that cut Greenville's lead in half.
 
The Panthers gave themselves more breathing room on their next drive as they went 66 yards on ten plays to score a touchdown with just 5:23 remaining, regaining their 14-point lead and taking five minutes off the clock.
 
The Eagles defense made another big play on the next Greenville drive as Brad Kulinski (Milwaukee, Wis./Martin Luther) blocked the Panthers' punt from their own eight-yard line. Greenville got to the ball first after it was freed, but Ethan Panchyshyn (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) tackled the ball-carrier in their own end zone for a safety. The two-point play set the score at 35-23, where it would remain until the end of the game.
 
The defense was the story of the game for Northwestern, as the Eagles caused five turnovers with two forced fumbles and three interceptions on a talented Greenville offense. Luke Malamisuro (Cambridge Isanti, Minn./Cambridge Isanti) led UNW with 12 total tackles on the day. Damon Clapper (Dallas Center, Iowa/Dallas Center - Grimes) had two-tackles for loss to lead the team and added seven total tackles.
 
On offense, Drinken threw for two-touchdowns and 174 yards with a long of 34. Sieben and Loe led the receiving corps with five catches and a touchdown each, with Caleb going for 73 yards and Isaac getting 65.
 
Next up for the Eagles is a home game with Westminster College on Saturday, October 23, following their bye this week. The Eagles will be hosting their "Tackle Cancer" fundraiser during the game to raise funds to help combat cancer.