ST. PAUL, Minn. – University of Northwestern Football took on the Greenville University Panthers, who were predicted to win the UMAC by the preseason coaches' poll, on Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Field. The Eagles made a phenomenal first impression for the hundreds of prospective students in attendance for Football Frenzy as Northwestern defeated Greenville 41-35 with the offense providing a balanced attack and the defense forcing clutch turnovers.
 
The Panthers received the opening kickoff, but the UNW defense made sure their opening drive didn't last long. Sam Schlabach (Keystone, S.D./Rapid City Christian) picked off Greenville on their second play from scrimmage and first pass attempt of the game, returning it 23 yards to the Panthers' 26-yard line. A facemask penalty against Greenville added an extra 15 yards to the play, setting up the Eagles just 13 yards away from the Panthers end zone for their first offensive possession of the day.
 
UNW didn't waste their prime opportunity to strike first as Jeremiah Staten (South Elgin, Ill./Wheaton Academy) took it the rest of the way on two carries, putting Northwestern up 7-0 within the first two minutes of the game.
 
The Eagles defense made another huge play midway through the opening quarter. On the first play of Greenville's third drive of the day, Jayden Goodwin (New Richmond, Wis./Saint Croix Central) picked off the Panthers for the second defensive interception of the day by UNW. Once again, Northwestern's offense capitalized on the opportunity as the Eagles drove down the field and Cole Uplegger (New Prague, Minn./New Prague) made a 31-yard field goal to put UNW up 10-0 in the first quarter.
 
Having made two costly mistakes through the air, Greenville adjusted and began to emphasize their ground game. The change in strategy proved effective as the Panthers used 11 running plays on a 12-play drive to drive 82 yards down the field and score their first touchdown of the day, cutting the Eagles lead to 10-7 at the close of the opening quarter.
 
Northwestern answered the Panthers touchdown earned on the ground by driving down the field through the air. Caden Cantrell (Taylor, Ariz./Snowflake) hit Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) downfield for a 41-yard completion on a third and 21. Burk then caught a seven-yard reception before finding the end zone on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Cantrell to put UNW up 17-7 early in the second quarter.
 
Before the end of the opening half, the Eagles added another three points to the board as Uplegger drilled another field goal, this time from 35 yards out to put Northwestern up 20-7.
 
Leading by 13 entering the second half, Northwestern received the kickoff and looked to add to their lead. They did just that as a 37-yard completion to Damon Clapper (Dallas Center, Iowa/Dallas Center - Grimes) highlighted a UNW drive that was capped off by a four-yard touchdown pass to Burk, his second of the day, to put Northwestern up 27-7 early in the third quarter.
 
Down by 20 in the second half, Greenville stayed true to their offensive identity and kept up their rushing attack. Their dedication to the ground game paid dividends twice in the third quarter as they scored two rushing touchdowns to cut Northwestern's lead down to six points at 27-21.
 
With the Panthers in striking distance, the Eagles put together a seven play drive early in the fourth quarter that was punctuated by a 24-yard touchdown run by Staten to put UNW back up by 13 at 34-21.
 
Greenville's next drive stalled at their own 27-yard line, leading to a punt attempt. Before the Panthers could get the punt off, Clapper broke through their protection and blocked the punt, recovered the ball himself, and ran it back 18 yards for an Eagle touchdown to put UNW back up by 20 with just nine minutes remaining regulation.
 
Trailing 41-21, the Panthers drove down the field within two minutes on their next drive and found the end zone through the air for the first time in the game, cutting the Eagle lead back down to 13 points.
 
The Panthers forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with 6:24 remaining. Once more, Greenville drove down the field and scored a rushing touchdown to cut UNW's lead back to six points.
 
Leading 41-35 with 3:50 remaining, the Eagles killed two minutes of the clock on their ensuing drive, though the Panthers were able to force a punt and get the ball back with 1:55 remaining on their 24-yard line.
 
Greenville's hopes of a 76-yard game-winning drive were dashed by Luke Malamisuro (Cambridge Isanti, Minn./Cambridge Isanti) as the junior defensive back picked off the Panthers for the third Eagle interception of the day, effectively icing the game for UNW. Two kneel downs later, Northwestern sealed the 41-35 win over Greenville to punctuate Football Frenzy with a massive conference victory.
 
Up next for UNW is a bye week, allowing the Eagles a rest before they play four consecutive games against conference opponents to close out the regular season. The first of those games is October 22 at noon in Fulton, Missouri against Westminster College.