Greenville College Panthers [27-16] Northwestern College Eagles
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| (Photo credit to Channing Smith) |
Both teams knew this was the biggest game of the season for them, but the Eagles did not seem to play like it as they made several costly errors that ended up putting the game in the Panthers hands (paws?). Northwestern got on the board first with an 18 yard touchdown pass from QB Josh Balzer to RB Chris Simon-Wallace who ended up hurdling a defender on his way to the endzone. After the PAT, NWC kicked the ball to the Panthers who fumbled the return and gave the ball back to the Eagles on the Greenville 49 yard mark. After a few plays, the Eagles brought in K Ethan Zepp who banged the kick off the upright and through the posts to put NWC up 10-0. Greenville was forced to punt on their next drive, and it looked like another game where Northwestern was going to dominate and win easily as the Eagles drove 76 yards on their next drive. This is where the trouble starts though, as Eagles RB Chris Simon-Wallace fumbled the ball at the Panthers 6 yard line and it was recovered by defensive back Cody Lopez to end the long drive. Greenville got to work quickly, going 94 yards in just over 2 minutes to reduce NWC's lead to 3 on a 4th down pass from QB Brendan Chambers to WR Shawn McKnight for an 18 yard touchdown. A couple uneventful drives later and it was halftime with Northwestern leading 10-7.
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| (Photo credit to Avery Chambers) |
After getting a first down on their first drive of the second half, RB Steven Glover lost a fumble to the Eagles and gave them great field position at the Panthers 46 yard marker. Northwestern handed the ball of eight times to put themselves at the 1 yard line before Balzer connected with TE Matt Dammann who caught the 1 yard score. A missed extra point and NWC now lead 16-7 and Greenville had the ball again, starting the drive at the 29 yard line. The Panthers gained a couple first downs before RB Steven Glover broke off a 28 yard run and finished just shy of the goal line, setting up RB Manny Gamble for an easy 1 yard score to close the gap to 16-13 after a botched snap led to an unsuccessful point after attempt. Northwestern appeared ready to answer and marched down the field and Balzer tossed a long pass to WR Brian Lecheler who appeared to be wide open. But Greenville DB Anthony Moore made a great play on the ball at the goal line and intercepted the long pass and returned it up to the Panther's 40 yard line, and giving his team plenty of momentum.
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| (Photo credit to Avery Chambers) |
The Panthers rode this momentum and the NWC turnover led to 7 points for Greenville as Gamble crossed the goalline again to put the Panthers in the lead 20-16, minutes into the fourth quarter. Several drives later, Greenville again started the drive near midfield and after a facemask penalty on LB Alex Zeller, Chambers connected with WR Cody Hutchin to extend the Greenville lead to 27-16 with only 5:29 left to play. Northwestern got the ball back and Balzer completed a long ball to WR Joe Sutton for 42 yards, but the drive stalled as WR Brian Lecheler was unable to haul in two consecutive balls in the endzone. A few minutes later the clock read all zeroes and the Panthers had handed Northwestern their first lost of the UMAC season.
Neither team did well on third down in this game as Greenville converted 15% (2 of 13) and Northwestern uncharacteristically converted 25% (4 of 16). Both teams converted four times on fourth down with the Panthers going a purrrrfect 4 for 4 while the Eagles completed 4 of 7. QB Brendan Chambers averaged 10.1 yards a pass play, completing 9 of 16 passes for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns in addition to the 63 yards he gained on 14 carries. Defensive backs Cody Lopez and Bryce Wright along with LB Robert Deernig all had double digit tackles going 15, 11, and 11, respecively while Wright also had 2 forced fumbles. For the Eagles, QB Josh Balzer was 15 of 37 for 217 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception. WR Joe Sutton led the Eagles receiving corps with 108 yards from 6 receptions. Both teams end UMAC play at 7-1 and tied with St. Scholastica as UMAC Co-Champions. Although the Saints won the randow draw for the tie-breaker to represent the UMAC in the NCAA Playoffs starting November 17th, Northwestern and Greenville will also be playing on that day as they have been selected by the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) to face each other again in the Victory Bowl.
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| (Photo credit to Avery Chambers) |
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