ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – On October 5
th, the University of Northwestern Football team rolled to a 69-14 win over Crown College in its Homecoming game. Saturday at Old National Bank Stadium, it was Crown's turn to play Homecoming host as the Eagles rolled into town. The Polars were able to keep the score much closer in round two between the UMAC foes, but Northwestern was able to come away with a 24-10 victory to move to 4-0 in the conference (4-3 overall) and remain in first place with three weeks to play.
In the first meeting between the two teams, UNW moved the ball effortlessly from the jump. Crown's defense made it apparent that the sequel wouldn't be a walk in the park for the Eagles' offense, as a third-and-long sack of
Caden Cantrell (Snowflake, Ariz./Snowflake) forced Northwestern to punt. Crown punted on its opening drive as well, and it appeared UNW might have to do so again when it faced a 3
rd and 14 in its own territory. Cantrell completed a 13-yard pass to
Jaylen Brown (Cusseta, Ga./Chattahoochee County) to set up 4
th and 1, and Head Coach
Matt Moore decided to roll the dice and go for it. The decision paid immediate dividends, as
Sivert Klefsaas (Motley, Minn./Staples-Motley) broke multiple tackles and dashed 39 yards for a touchdown to put the visitors ahead, 7-0.
The Polars were able to move the ball into Northwestern territory on the ensuing possession, but coughed up a fumble on 3
rd down that was recovered by
Sam Schlabach (Keystone, S.D./Rapid City Christian). Brown,
Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) and
Will Schleicher (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen) each caught passes for UNW to set up a two-yard touchdown run by Klefsaas on the first play of the second quarter that made it 14-0 in favor of the Eagles. The next three possessions resulted in punts, which were followed by Cantrell's lone interception of the game. Crown was able to score eight plays later to trim the deficit to seven at 14-7. With only 1:04 to work with, Northwestern moved the ball down the field quickly and efficiently. Cantrell found four different receivers for 80 yards, which set up a 28-yard field goal attempt as time was about to expire. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the teams headed into their respective locker rooms with the 14-7 score intact.
Crown got the ball first but was forced to punt. Cantrell continued to carve up the Polars' defense with first-down passes to Brown and
Trey Ulmer (West Melbourne, Fla./Heritage), but a Klefsaas fumble in opposing territory turned it back over to the home team. Just two plays later, Crown fumbled it right back to the Eagles, as
Luke Malamisuro (Cambridge Isanti, Minn./Cambridge Isanti) came away with the ball. Northwestern was able to convert the turnover into points this time; after gaining 30 yards,
Dominic Borges (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) booted a 25-yard field goal to make it a two-score game at 17-7. The Polars were able to put together a good offensive drive themselves, marching down to the UNW seven-yard line, but missed a short field goal to keep the margin at 10.
On the first possession of the fourth quarter, new UNW career receptions leader
Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) got loose for a 59-yard reception, which set up a Cantrell touchdown pass to Brown in which the quarterback had to scramble to his right and heave a dime off his back foot to the awaiting receiver. Borges's kick made it 24-7 with 12:25 left in the game. A good return on the ensuing kickoff allowed Crown to get into scoring range by way of a 24-yard field goal to cut the lead to two scores at 24-10, which would ultimately be the final score. The Polars would get the ball back one more time, but
Edward Dyer (Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway) made a diving interception on Northwestern's side of the field to put the game on ice.
The Eagles out-gained Crown 465-279 and won the time of possession battle by nearly 10 minutes. Cantrell was a surgeon all night, finishing with 358 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 76.5% of his passes. 13 of those completions and 178 of those yards went to Brown, who also caught the lone passing touchdown. Burk hauled in seven passes for 89 yards, while Klefsaas continued his hot streak with 170 total yards (134 rushing, 36 receiving) and two touchdowns.
Jayden Goodwin (New Richmond, Wis./Saint Croix Central) led the defensive effort with nine tackles, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a sack.
Edward Dyer (Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway) and
Jeffrey Markvicka II (Brooklyn Center, Minn./Fridley) each made five tackles, with Dyer adding the interception and Markvicka II a TFL and a sack.
Elijah Simmons (Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway) tallied two tackles for loss and one sack, while Schlabach and Malamisuro logged the other two takeaways. Borges made all three of his PATs and the 25-yard field goal.
UNW will return home next Saturday, November 2
nd, for a big matchup with UMAC implications. The Eagles will take on Martin Luther College, who is one game behind Northwestern in the conference standings at 3-1. The Knights defeated Westminster 46-14 on Saturday. Kickoff at Reynolds Field will be at 1:00 PM and you can catch the game on the Eagle Sports Network, an affiliate of the UMAC Sports Network.
