WHEATON, Ill. – The University of Northwestern football team opened their season on Saturday as the Eagles traveled to Illinois to take on the Wheaton Thunder; the No. 5 ranked DIII team in the country by D3football.com.
 
Ryan Flanigan (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) led the Eagles passing attack against potent Thunder passing defense. The senior averaged 9.3 yards per completion, and used his legs to scramble for 6.0 yards per carry. Calen Sieben was the primary target downfield, averaging 10.7 yards per reception with a long of 20. The rushing attack was led by Keegan James (Brooklyn, Iowa/IBGM) and Jeremiah Staten (South Elgin, Ill./Wheaton Academy), who battered their way through the stout Thunder defense.
 
On defense, Noah Couwenhoven (Blaine, Minn./Fridley) led UNW with 11 total tackles. Brad Kulinski (Milwaukee, Wis./Martin Luther) and Jacob Emley (St. Peter, Minn./St. Peter) each had seven solo tackles, with Kulinski showing his versatility with a pass break up in coverage and a quarterback hit while rushing the passer. Luke Nienow (Rochester, Minn./Mayo) flashed with a tackle for loss to go along with five total on the day.
 
Weaton last competed in 2019, when they went 12-1, advanced to the NCAA DIII Football Playoff Quarterfinals, and tied their single-season record for victories. The Thunder returned more than 70 players this season from that 2019 squad, with 23 fifth and sixth year players staying for one final year.
 
The Eagles return to Reynolds Field next Saturday, September 11, for their home opener against the Buena Vista Beavers. The opener is the second half of the UNW Nation Gold Out. First, get your golden UNW Nation shirt at the volleyball match at 7 p.m. on Friday night. Then, wear those golden shirts to the football opener that next night. Be there early at 5 p.m. for pizza, gift card drawings, and to be part of a drone video shoot with the rest of UNW Nation.