ST. PAUL, Minn. – The sun was out on Saturday and so were Eagles of past, present and future for 2025 University of Northwestern Homecoming. On the gridiron, UNW took on Greenville University in the UMAC Game of the Week, as the two squads tied for the top spot in the conference's preseason poll. Still searching for their first win, the Eagles dug themselves a big hole, but battled back to tie it late thanks to a second-half offensive explosion. A last-minute field goal and defensive hold for the Panthers gave the visitors a 23-20 win in an exhilarating contest.
Greenville got points on its first drive despite losing its quarterback to a game-ending injury, but missed the extra point to keep the score at 6-0. After a three-and-out for the Northwestern offense and a career-long 65-yard punt by
Will Schleicher (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen) to pin the opposition deep, GU went 93 yards in 12 plays to extend the lead to 13-0. UNW got a gift after another unsuccessful drive when the Panthers muffed a punt, but turned it over on downs when a 4
th-and-5 pass fell incomplete. The Eagles got their biggest play of the half on their next offensive series when
Basil Demco (Fontana, Wis./Big Foot) threw a perfect, back-shoulder pass to
Eli Werner (Moose Lake, Minn./Moose Lake) for 20 yards along the home sideline, but a false start penalty backed them up across midfield and they were not able to recover. At halftime, the score remained 13-0.
Northwestern again crossed midfield on its opening drive of the third quarter when Demco hit
Braeden Little (Ladysmith, Wis./Ladysmith) over the middle for 17 yards, but again were forced to go for it on fourth down and could not convert. Greenville took advantage, scoring from 71 yards out just two plays later to make it 20-0 with 7:59 remaining in the period. Facing a three-score deficit, the Eagles had two choices: roll over or go down swinging. They chose the latter.
Keaton Sargent (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan) took over at running back and immediately dashed for six yards. Demco then found Little again, for 29 yards, to move near midfield. Sargent picked up 18 more yards on three carries before
Tate Westin (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) caught a heavily-contested jump ball in the back of the end zone from 21 yards out to get UNW on the board. The PAT hit the left upright, keeping the score at 20-6.
Seemingly inspired by the sudden jolt of offense, Northwestern's defense turned up the heat as well when
Alex Schultz (Staples, Minn./Staples-Motley) intercepted a GU pass, much to the delight of the chicken-craving attendees at Reynolds Field. The offense did its part as well, only taking 1:29 off the clock before
Isaiah Voss (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) made a sensational, six-yard touchdown grab, the first of his career, to trim the deficit to just seven points. Little and
Trey Ulmer (West Melbourne, Fla./Heritage) caught passes of 10 and 20 yards, respectively, to set up the score.
A UNW penalty at the end of the PAT set up a short field for the Panthers, who got all the way down to the eight-yard line but missed a 25-yard field goal to keep the margin at just one score with 8:23 left in the game. The Eagles weren't able to move the sticks and faced a 4
th and 3 at their own 42, but Head Coach
Matt Moore trusted his defense and punted the ball away. It proved to be the right decision, as his team got the ball back at its own 48 with 5:04 remaining. On 4
th and 2, Sargent burst through the fray and out-ran everyone for a 71-yard score, the first of his career, sending Reynolds Field into a frenzy.
Erich Hulshizer (Casper, Wyo./Kelly Walsh), who took over at kicker after the early miss, calmly drilled the extra point to tie the game at 20 with just under four minutes left.
With all the momentum on Northwestern's side, Greenville dialed up a perfectly-executed trick play to gain 56 yards with 2:29 to play. After gaining one more first down, the Panthers were able to convert a 23-yard field goal to edge back in front, 23-20, with 27 seconds on the clock. But despite the clutch place-kick, GU's kicker hooked the kickoff out of bounds, giving the Eagles shockingly good field position at their own 35 with no time taken off the clock. Demco then heaved a pass 36 yards downfield to Ulmer, who went up over three defenders to haul it in at the Panthers' 29-yard line. A spike stopped the clock, then Demco just barely missed connecting with Westin on a shot to the end zone on second down. With one more play before a potential game-tying field goal attempt, Greenville brought the heat and sacked Demco, causing the clock to expire and giving the Panthers a 23-20 win.
Demco completed 12 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns without turning the ball over. Ulmer caught four of those passes for 59 yards and Little three for 52, while Westin and Voss caught the two touchdowns. Sargent ran for a career-high 79 yards on just 11 carries and his first-career score. Defensively,
Austin Ahrendt (Nevis, Minn./Nevis Public) led the team with 12 tackles and 0.5 tackles-for-loss, while
Gideon Cruver (Fayetteville, Ga./Landmark Christian) logged nine and 0.5, respectively. The Eagles spent plenty of time in GU's backfield, as
Wes Schlabach (Spearfish, S.D./Rapid City Christian) (1.5),
Jayden Goodwin (New Richmond, Wis./Saint Croix Central) (1),
Ashton Robinson (Sharon, Wis./Bigfoot) (1),
Hakeem Anderson (Cuero, Texas/Cuero) (0.5),
Drake Lindberg (Keystone, S.D./Rapid City Christian) (0.5) and
Khai Greene (Buford, Ga./Mill Creek) (0.5) all tallied tackles-for-loss as well. Schultz came up with the only interception of the day, while
Clay Fee (Weyauwega, Wis./Weyauwega-Fremont) recovered the muffed punt.
Northwestern will travel west to take on Minnesota Morris next Saturday, October 18
th, at 2:00 PM.
