ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern St. Paul defeated the University of Minnesota Morris on Saturday night 27-23 in a UMAC football battle.  

UMM struck first early in the opening quarter as Marcus Reeb found Darret Elison for a 38-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead three minutes in.

The Eagles cut into the Cougar lead on their next possession as Blake Mitchell (Watertown, S.D./Watertown) chipped in a 26-yard field goal four minutes later.

Trailing 7-3 in the second quarter, the Eagles got a spark from Keegan James (Brooklyn, Iowa/IBGM) as the sophomore broke off a 60-yard punt return to the Cougars' 16-yard line. On first and goal from the four, Jeremiah Staten (South Elgin, Ill./Wheaton Academy) rushed through the UMM defense to score the go-ahead touchdown for the Eagles with 7:56 remaining in the half.

Four minutes later, the Cougars briefly evened the game with a 22-yard field goal, but the Eagles' answer was immediate. On the first play of the following possession, Ryan Flanigan (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) hit KJ Downey (Blaine, Minn. /Blaine HS) in stride for a 73-yard bomb to retake the lead for Northwestern at 17-10.

UNW forced a punt on the next UMM possession to give themselves one more shot to score before the end of the half. With just 40 seconds on the clock and starting at their own 43, the Eagles went to work, starting with a 37-yard strike from Flanigan to Jamon Howard (Fargo, N.D./Fargo South) to get to the Cougars' 20. The Eagles fought to the three yard line, and from there Damon Clapper (Dallas Center, Iowa/Dallas Center - Grimes) found a seam to score with seven seconds remaining. The Eagles took the 24-10 lead into halftime.

Minnesota Morris cut the Northwestern lead in half on the opening possession of the second half as Reeb hit Matt Laur on a 16-yard fade to the end zone. On their following possession, the Cougars scored on a 2-yard rush by Blake Johnson to claw within a single point of the Eagles.

As the Cougars attempted the game-tying extra point, Clapper stormed through the protection and blocked the kick, saving the Eagles' 24-23 lead.

From then on, the UNW defense fought and preserved the one-point lead. With under five minutes remaining in the game, Noah Couwenhoven (Blaine, Minn./Fridley) picked off Reed at the UNW 40. Two minutes later, Clapper made his presence known again with an interception deep in Cougars territory to set up a 30-yard field goal from Mitchell.

Now leading by four with 2:04 remaining, it was now or never for the Cougars. There would be no game-winning drives today for Minnesota Morris as Clapper again picked off the Cougars for a second time in as many drives to seal the 27-23 win for Northwestern.

By the end of the night, Clapper had two interceptions, a blocked extra-point, six total tackles, and a rushing touchdown for the Eagles in an incredible performance on both sides of the ball.

Flanigan finished the game with 182 yard and a touchdown. Downey was Flanigan's top target, hauling in a team high five catches for 107 yards. Staten led the Eagles' rushing attack with 69 yards on the ground and a touchdown. James had 81 return yards on punts and had a 49-yard kickoff return.

Up next for Northwestern is a journey to Decorah, Iowa, where the Eagles will take on the Luther College Norse on next Saturday, April 10, at 12pm.