MORRIS, Minn. – Whatever the University of Northwestern Football team found in the second half of its Homecoming game against Greenville, it appears here to stay. The Eagles rode the momentum of a near-miraculous comeback last Saturday in this week's road tilt at the University of Minnesota Morris, scoring 21-unanswered points to shut down the Cougars, 21-3, and earn their first win of the season.
Morris struck first with a field goal on its first possession of the game after taking over a short field, but that was the final time the hosts would light up the scoreboard on the afternoon. On UNW's first drive of the second quarter, it deployed a steady dose of
Christian Marques (Vero Beach, Fla./Indian River Charter) and
Keaton Sargent (Manhattan, Mont./Manhattan) on the ground and got a 21-yard air connection between
Basil Demco (Fontana, Wis./Big Foot) and
Braeden Little (Ladysmith, Wis./Ladysmith), setting up a beautifully-designed, five-yard touchdown pass from Demco to
Will Schleicher (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen) to give the Eagles a 7-3 lead.
Northwestern's defense kept the offense's momentum going, as
Gideon Cruver (Fayetteville, Ga./Landmark Christian) forced a fumble deep in UNW territory that was recovered by
Austin Ahrendt (Nevis, Minn./Nevis Public). The Eagles weren't able to capitalize with any points, but on UMM's next series, Northwestern again turned the Cougars over when
Jonathan Etter (Rosemount, Minn./Apple Valley) forced a fumble which
Angelo Johnson (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) recovered. This time, UNW was able to turn the fumble into points, marching 75 yards at the end of the first half. Demco found Schleicher on a well-placed ball rolling to his left for 22 yards, setting up a 21-yard touchdown strike to
Tate Westin (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) three plays later to extend the lead to 14-3 with 26 seconds remaining.
After a scoreless third quarter,
Jayden Goodwin (New Richmond, Wis./Saint Croix Central) picked off the Morris quarterback deep in Cougar territory, which set up a perfect option touchdown run by Demco from six yards out on third down to make it a three-possession game at 21-3. The Eagles' defense clamped UMM for the remaining 11:21 of play, sacking the quarterback twice and getting an interception from
Austin Ahrendt (Nevis, Minn./Nevis Public), his second takeaway of the day.
There was much praise to go around on both sides of the ball for Northwestern, but the defense shone brightest. UNW finished the game with 12 tackles-for-loss, seven sacks and four forced turnovers. Seven different Eagles notched at least 0.5 tackles-for-loss, with Cruver (4), Goodwin (3) and
Michael Montoya (Pueblo, Colo./Central) (2) logging multiple. That trio also each tallied two sacks each while
Ian Ahrendt (Nevis, Minn./Nevis Public) added one. Goodwin and
Austin Ahrendt (Nevis, Minn./Nevis Public) each intercepted passes, and Cruver and Etter forced a fumble apiece. Offensively, Demco threw for 107 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, finding Westin and Schleicher for the two scores. Little led the team with 35 receiving yards, while Schleicher and Westin followed with 27 and 21 yards, respectively. Sargent spearheaded the rushing attack with 80 yards on 15 carries, and Marques chipped in 33 yards.
UNW will return home for a 7:00 PM game against Crown on Saturday, October 25
th. The Polars defeated the Eagles 22-3 on October 4
th in St. Bonifacius.
