ST. PAUL, Minn. – University of Northwestern Football battled Martin Luther College in a conference contest on Saturday afternoon for the final game of the regular season. The Eagles earned a 31-9 win over the Knights to clinch the UMAC Championship outright and complete a perfect 6-0 season in conference play.
 
Martin Luther received the opening kickoff, but the Eagles' offense didn't have to wait long to get to work as the UNW defense held the Knights to a three-and-out on their opening drive.
 
Northwestern's offense took over at their own 24-yard line and drove down the field with a 13-play drive that culminated in an 11-yard touchdown reception by Damon Clapper (Dallas Center, Iowa/Dallas Center - Grimes). UNW went up 7-0 after Cole Uplegger's (New Prague, Minn./New Prague) point-after kick sailed true.
 
The Eagles doubled their lead in the second quarter as quarterback Caden Cantrell (Taylor, Ariz./Snowflake) connected with Mike Bostrom (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) for a 43-yard touchdown reception.
 
Down 14-0, the Martin Luther cut into the Eagles' lead on the first play of the drive following Bostrom's touchdown. After a 20-yard return set the them up at the UNW 45-yard line, the run-heavy Knights struck through the air on a 45-yard touchdown reception. The point after attempt was blocked by Brad Kulinski (Milwaukee, Wis./Martin Luther) and returned 87-yards to the MLC end zone, but a personal foul penalty on UNW negated the thrilling special teams return. Nonetheless, Northwestern still led by eight up 14-6.
 
UNW added three points to the scoreboard on the ensuing drive as Uplegger drilled a 27-yard field goal, putting Northwestern up two-scores at 17-6. The 11-point UNW lead that would hold to halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Martin Luther made a 25-yard field goal at the end of their first drive of the half to cut the UNW lead back down to eight points. A 62-yard kickoff proceeded to pin the Eagles at their own 17-yard line for their ensuing drive.
 
Needing to go 83-yards, the UNW offense got to work. On a 2^nd and 7 from their own 31-yard line, Sivert Klefsaas (Motley, Minn./Staples-Motley) broke free for a 65-yard run down to the Knight's four-yard line. Cantrell found Clapper two plays later for the tight end's second touchdown of the day to put Northwestern up 24-9.
 
The Eagles added seven more points in the fourth quarter as Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) hauled in a 22-yard strike down the middle of the field for another UNW touchdown. Northwestern's defense did the rest as the Eagles took the 31-9 victory to complete their undefeated conference season and clinch the UMAC title outright.
 
Cantrell completed 19-of-36 for 241 yards and four touchdowns in the win. The freshman quarterback also made up for an interception by laying a hit on the returning Knight that forced a fumble which was recovered by the Eagles.
 
Clapper caught two of those touchdowns and had 87 receiving yards. Bostrom led UNW with 106 receiving yards in the win to go with his touchdown reception. Burk had 48 yards and his 22-yard touchdown reception.
 
Klefsaas had a monster game on the ground for the Eagles, rushing for 196 yards on 24-carries for an average of 8.2 yards per attempt. Cal Johnson (Lino Lakes, Minn./Concordia Academy) had 49 yards on 10 carries, averaging 4.9 per rush.
 
Sam Schlabach (Keystone, S.D./Rapid City Christian) led UNW with eight total tackles and three tackles for loss. Elijah Simmons (Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway High) had a forced fumble and four tackles. Nic Schultz (Fontana, Calif./Etiwanda) and Jaikub Jones (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo) each had a sack and four tackles each.
 
Up next for Northwestern is a First Round game in the NCAA DIII Football Championship on Saturday. The Eagles will find out who and where they play on Sunday, November 13, during the NCAA Selection Show that airs at 4:00 P.M. CST.