This past weekend the eagles football team showed who home it really was by defeating the University of Minnesota-Morris football team, by a score of 38-14. The team kept a predominant lead throughout the whole game. The eagles obtained their first touchdown with a 5 yard run by running back Chris Simon-Wallace (Ethan Zepp kick). Then another touchdown was brought along by a 10 yard pass to receiver Brian Lecheler from quarterback Josh Balzer (Ethan Zepp kick), ending the first half with the Eagles leading a score of 14-0. Starting off the second Chris Simon-Wallace gained another touchdown with a four yard run. Brian Lecheler would also go on to make another touchdown by catching a captivating 47 yard pass from Josh Balzer. University of Minnesota-Morris would go on to make their first touchdown by completing a 16 yard pass to receiver Kernan from quartback Garrigan (Adel Kick). Eagles kicker Ethan Zepp did not only make all of his field goals the first half but he also ended the first half by making a 23 yard field goal, assisting the eagles lead of 31-7. The only touchdown in the third would be made by Josh Sinnen completing an 8 yard run (Ethan Zepp kick). University of Minnesota-Morris would end the game offensively with a 19 yard touchdown pass to Degraffenreid from quarterback Garrigan (Adel Kick). Total yardage ended between both teams was 374-360, Northwestern leading.

On the defensive side, the defense was said to be very solid and a key factor to the eagles success. Although stated by Luke Sommerlot, who got a career-high of 13 tackles, “It was the offense that kept us off the field.” The eagles defense would go on to make many other contributions, such as Kendall Sommerlot's retrieval of a Morris fumble that resulted in the 47 yard touchdown pass to Brian Lecheler a couple plays down the line. Kendall Sommerlot would also contribute seven tackles and Josh Swore assisted the team with two sacks and 3.5 tackles for a loss amidst eight total tackles.

I asked the head coach of the football team Kirk Talley his take on the game, he said, “The team played really well, especially on defense” …. “Just need to work on the little things, such as finishing up strong”. A couple of the players agreed with the coach, players such as senior defensive linemen Josh Swore. I also asked Swore did he think homecoming gave the team an extra boost this game, he explained, “Not really, we treated it as a normal game, but it was encouraging to see a bigger crowd”. The football team wasn't the only one's encouraged this weekend, but the Northwestern community as a whole was encouraged by their win. The Northwestern football team truly put the home in homecoming this year. The team will move on with their overall record of 4-1 and a undefeated UMAC record of 3-0, to play the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN October 6^th.