FULTON, Mo. – Saturday afternoon, the University of Northwestern Football team proved that perfection isn't always pretty, but the Eagles (7-3, 7-0 UMAC) were able to put the finishing touches on a perfect conference season with a gritty, 33-21 win at Westminster College (1-9, 0-7). Trailing for most of the first half and never able to go ahead by more than 13, Northwestern had to dig deep despite the NCAA Division III Playoffs on the horizon. Leaning on the best passing attack in the UMAC, UNW was able to get the job done in its regular season finale.
Things went haywire from the opening snap.
Caden Cantrell (Snowflake, Ariz./Snowflake) threw a quick pass to the flats that was perfectly jumped by a Westminster defensive back for a pick six, much to the delight of the home, senior day crowd. After a good return by
Luke Malamisuro (Cambridge Isanti, Minn./Cambridge Isanti), Northwestern was able to move the ball into Blue Jay territory, but a dropped pass on 4
th and 2 gave the ball back to the home team. Westminster turned it over on downs right back to the Eagles, who threw the ball to
Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) on first down for a gain of five yards. Those five yards were enough for Burk to pass Kyle Thomforde as Northwestern's all-time career receiving yards leader with 3,283. It is the fifth program record that now belongs to the senior.
Cantrell would hit Burk a couple more times on that drive, but the offense was stopped on 3
rd and 10, forcing a Cantrell pooch punt. Neither team could seem to get anything going on offense as the first-half clock ticked away. With 2:31 left before the break and Westminster having possession at the Northwestern 39-yard line, Malamisuro picked off a third-down pass. Thanks to long passes to Burk and
Trey Ulmer (West Melbourne, Fla./Heritage), the Eagles' offense was able to get deep into plus-territory with under a minute left. Cantrell completed a four-yard touchdown pass to
Gideon Cruver (Fayetteville, Ga./Landmark Christian), 34 seconds before the half to even the score at seven.
The opening play of the second half was eerily similar to the first, but this time it was UNW who reaped the benefits.
Elijah Simmons (Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway) intercepted a pass and nearly took it the distance, as he was brought down at the Blue Jays' one-yard line.
Sivert Klefsaas (Motley, Minn./Staples-Motley) carried the ball across the goal line one play later to give the UMAC champs their first lead of the day at 14-7. Northwestern's defense was not done; however, as
Brady Harlan (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) picked off Westminster's quarterback on the very next play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Burk hauled in a touchdown from 15 yards out, making it 20-7 in favor of the visitors.
The Eagles' defense didn't get an interception their next time out, but they did force a three-and-out, keeping all the momentum with the team in white. Westminster's defense held tough though, sacking Cantrell on 4
th and 6. Once their offense got the ball back, the Blue Jays slowly matriculated down the field. 8:11 later, they were able to score from a yard out to trim the deficit to one possession at 20-14 with 1:14 left in the third. The momentum continued swinging the home team's way, as they recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Northwestern's defense came through once again, forcing a three-and-out.
The UNW offense knew it desperately needed to extend the lead back to two scores, and did just that. Cantrell hit
Will Schleicher (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen) for 59 yards and again two plays later for a four-yard score. The two-point attempt failed, keeping the score at 26-14. The Blue Jays had some more senior day magic left in the tank, as they scored a 51-yard rushing touchdown on the third play of their next series to pull within five. Once again needing to put points on the board for some cushion, the Eagles went to their record book merchant. Burk caught two passes on the drive, including a 39-yard touchdown to push the lead back to 12 at 33-21. Westminster muffed the ensuing kickoff and Northwestern recovered. The score would hold for the remainder of the game, with the official dagger coming via a
Jah'Kiing Joseph (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Heritage) interception with 2:15 left in the game.
After the opening-play interception, Cantrell was surgical, finishing with 327 yards and four touchdowns on 26 completions. Burk caught 11 of those passes for 132 yards and a pair of scores, while Schleicher hauled in four for 71 yards and a touchdown. Ulmer finished with 31 yards and Cruver 37. Klefsaas logged 68 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, facing a loaded box for much of the game. Defensively,
Jayden Goodwin (New Richmond, Wis./Saint Croix Central) was everywhere, making 14 tackles with 0.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks.
Nate Jennings (Palm Bay, Fla./Heritage) continued terrorizing the opponent's backfield with eight tackles, 1.5 for loss and 0.5 sacks.
Jeffrey Markvicka II (Brooklyn Center, Minn./Fridley) logged a sack as well, and
Jakob Montesi (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen) had a tackle for loss. Harlan, Joseph, Simmons and Malamisuro all intercepted Westminster's quarterback. Malamisuro also averaged 31.7 yards across three kick returns.
The regular season is over but the season rolls on for Northwestern, who has earned the UMAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs. The Eagles will find out who and where they will play Sunday at 4:00 PM during the NCAA Selection Show. You can watch along at NCAA.com, and we will have coverage as well on unweagles.com and all of our social channels.
