NEW ULM, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Football team traveled to New Ulm on Saturday to take on Martin Luther in the first of two meetings with the Knights this season. Fans will have a lot to look forward to in the second matchup between these two teams, because the first matchup on Saturday afternoon was one to remember. The Eagles defeated the Knights 42-38 in a come-from-behind shootout in front of a sizable MLC Homecoming crowd. The game marked the first conference contest of the season as the Eagles got off to a 1-0 start in UMAC play.
This game will go down in UNW Football history as two major single-game records were not just broken on the sunny Saturday afternoon; they were shattered.
Caden Cantrell (Snowflake, Ariz./Snowflake) finished the game with three touchdowns on 24-38 passing and a school record 459 yards (UNW Athletics originally reported on social media that Cantrell had completed 25 passes for 466 yards. The Martin Luther Sports Information Department made some adjustments to the statistics, and the box score posted on UNWEagles.com and reported on in this press release are now accurate.) Cantrell's 459 yards are a career high for the sophomore (he threw for 349 yards in a game against Wisconsin-River Falls in 2022) and were the most ever in a game by a Northwestern quarterback. Cantrell broke the record that was previously set in 1996 by Dennis Anderson. That record stood for 27 years.
Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) had already etched himself into the Eagles' record books in his distinguished career, but he broke his own school record with his legendary performance on Saturday. Burk finished the game with 14 catches for 289 yards (MLC's original box score had Burk listed for 292 yards and that was reported on UNW Athletics' social media. 289 yards is the correct number based off of Martin Luther's most recent box score). Burk's 14 catches were one off of the school record for receptions in a game which was set by Jeff Thune in 1999 (15 catches). Burk's 289 receiving yards shattered the record for receiving yards in a game, which was a record that Burk already owned with his 222 yard performance against Augsburg last season.
Aside from the broken records, this was as entertaining of a game as Eagle fans will see their team play in. The scoring started when the Eagles took the opening kick-off and went 6 plays for 80 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came thanks to the two Eagle record holders; Burk caught an 18 yard touchdown from Cantrell.
The Eagles' defense saw their offense get off to a fast start and decided to follow their lead. On Martin Luther's first drive of the game they fumbled the football on the second play from scrimmage.
Paul Berglund (Brillion, Wis./Brillion) forced and recovered the fumble and UNW's defense had forced a turnover in their first action of the afternoon.
However, following the turnover the Eagles went to attempt a field goal to extend their lead. Martin Luther's special teams made a big play and blocked the kick and returned it for a touchdown to tie the game 7-7.
After the special teams' touchdown, the Knights had the momentum and they capitalized on it. They would force an Eagle fumble, score a touchdown, force an Eagle punt, and score a touchdown on a 64 yard passing play. Despite the hot start from the Eagles, all of a sudden, they found themselves down 21-7 at the end of the first quarter.
MLC kicked a field goal on their first drive of the second quarter to extend their lead to 17 points. The final four minute stretch of the first half was a track meet with each offense firing on all cylinders. The Eagles took possession of the football with 4:06 remaining in the half. It was a six play drive that featured a couple of runs from
Jeremiah Staten (South Elgin, Ill./Wheaton Academy), a quarterback run from Cantrell, and a couple of completions to Burk including a 12 yard touchdown. The Eagles had cut their deficit to 24-14.
Martin Luther got the football back with 1:51 before the break. They only needed five plays to score a touchdown and go back up by 17, 31-14. The Eagles only had 45 seconds remaining on the clock before the half, but that was more than enough time for one of the most electric duos in team history. On the first play of the drive, Cantrell hit Burk for a 75 yard touchdown and the Eagles trailed 31-21 going into halftime.
The Eagles' defense forced a much needed three and out after the Knights took possession off of the second half kick. UNW's offense went right down the field and
Jeremiah Staten (South Elgin, Ill./Wheaton Academy) made the score 31-28 off of a two yard touchdown run.
The Eagles' defense, after giving up a lot of points in the first half, had officially found their rhythm early on in the second half. They forced an MLC punt off of a three and out once again, but a roughing the kicker penalty extended the Knights' drive. It did not turn out to be a costly penalty, as the Eagles' defense forced the Knights to punt once again four plays later.
The Eagles marched right down the field once again and scored another touchdown on the ground, this time it was
Ashton Lofton (Colorado Springs, Col./Colorado Springs Christian) plunging in from a yard out and the Eagles had come all the way back and took a 35-31 lead. The touchdown was the first of Lofton's career.
Despite trailing for the first time since it was 7-0, Martin Luther did not panic, now trailing by four points on their Homecoming Saturday. They scored on a 49 yard touchdown pass to take the lead back 38-35. The Eagles only trailed for two plays this time. Cantrell hit Burk for a 59 yard pass and he was tackled at the one yard line. Staten scored his second touchdown of the game and a wild third quarter came to an end with the Eagles leading 42-38.
After an up-and-down, fast-paced third quarter, there were no points scored in the fourth quarter. The Eagles' defense came up with stop after stop to seal the road victory. The game was decided when Martin Luther faced a 4
th down and 5 with under two minutes remaining. It was the last chance for the Knights as they tried to drive down the field to score the go-ahead touchdown. The Knights tried to convert the first down with a pass to the right side, but
Luke Malamisuro (Cambridge Isanti, Minn./Cambridge Isanti) dove and broke up the pass and the Eagles hung on to win a classic, 42-38.
The Eagles will continue conference play at home against Crown College on Saturday, October 7
th. It will be festive day at Reynolds Field as it marks Homecoming and UNW Athletics will be having their 50 Years of Football Celebration. The game kicks off from Reynolds Field at 2:00pm.
