GREENVILLE, Ill. – For the second time this season, the red-hot University of Northwestern Football team has avenged an early-season loss. After losing 23-20 to Greenville University in its October 11
th Homecoming game, UNW bested the Panthers on their home field Saturday by a 17-14 margin to extend its winning streak to four games and remain alive in the race for the UMAC Championship with one week to play.
Ken Ingram's opening-drive script was on point, as the Eagles marched right down the field in eight plays to score the game's first points. Quarterback
Basil Demco (Fontana, Wis./Big Foot) had a 17-yard run on the drive and completed passes to
Will Schleicher (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen) for 13 yards and
Isaiah Voss (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) for 17 yards before plunging in himself for a one-yard touchdown. Northwestern's defense found success in its first appearance on the field as well, as
Ashton Robinson (Sharon, Wis./Bigfoot) forced a fumble which was recovered by
Gideon Cruver (Fayetteville, Ga./Landmark Christian).
Cruver turned Greenville over again early in the second quarter when he intercepted a pass in Panther territory. It appeared UNW was going to turn the takeaway into points when they got the ball to the one-yard line, but a 17-yard field goal attempt was blocked by GU. Two possessions later, the Eagles began a drive at the Greenville 37-yard line with just 1:33 remaining before the half. Demco wasted no time adding to the lead, as he found
Tate Westin (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) for a 37-yard score on the first play of the drive. When the Panthers got the ball back,
Wes Schlabach (Spearfish, S.D./Rapid City Christian) picked off a pass with nine seconds left, but Northwestern was unable to put points on the board before the clock expired.
The teams traded punts for the entirety of the third quarter, but UNW ended the drought early in the fourth with a career-long, 29-yard field goal off the foot of
Erich Hulshizer (Casper, Wyo./Kelly Walsh) to extend its lead to 17-0 with 14:07 left in the game. GU's offense was finally able to put together a scoring drive, going 13 plays in 6:30 to make it 17-7. After another Northwestern punt, the Panthers were again able to score, but in doing so took a lot of time off the clock in 12 plays. Greenville failed to recover an onside kick trailing 17-14 with 57 seconds left, but did still have three timeouts left. The hosts got the ball back at their own nine-yard line with 30 seconds to play, but were unable to pull off the miracle as the Eagles escaped with a 17-14 win.
Demco threw for 150 yards and a touchdown, and also led the team in rushing with 67 yards and a score. Westin caught three balls for 56 yards and a touchdown, while
Braeden Little (Ladysmith, Wis./Ladysmith) hauled in four for 40 and Voss five for 31. Seven different Eagles recorded at least 0.5 tackles for loss, including
Austin Ahrendt (Nevis, Minn./Nevis Public) who led the team with 14 tackles. His brother,
Ian Ahrendt (Nevis, Minn./Nevis Public), had 12 tackles, one TFL and 0.5 sacks, while
Michael Montoya (Pueblo, Colo./Central) contributed nine tackles, one tackle-for-loss and 0.5 sacks.
Hakeem Anderson (Cuero, Texas/Cuero) and Cruver also logged 0.5 sacks each, with the latter also recording a recovered fumble and an interception.
With the win, UNW remains one game behind Crown in the UMAC standings with one week to play. Northwestern will close out the regular season next Saturday, November 15
th, at home for Senior Day against Westminster College. Kickoff is slated for 11:00 AM at Reynolds Field.
