Game Leaders
Team Stats
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Time of Poss.
ST. PAUL -- Jacob Fletcher (Moorhead, Minn./Park Christian)'s five-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Fettig (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) with 1:20 to play gave the University of Northwestern (Minn.) a 17-16 come-from-behind victory over St. Olaf College in the first game played at the new opening of the renovated Reynolds Field on Saturday night. The Eagles, who trailed the visiting Oles throughout the entire game, piled up 416 yards of total offense in front of a packed crowd of 2,891.
Watch a video of the game-winning touchdown.
Northwestern couldn't quite finish until it needed to most. A missed field goal kept the Eagles from tying St. Olaf at 10 points apiece in the second half; a dropped fourth down pass in the third caused UNW to turn over the ball on downs. But running back Chris Simon-Wallace (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) sparked the Eagles with a 49-yard burst on Northwestern's first play on the final drive that started with 7:17 left to go in the game. 11 plays later, on third and goal from the St. Olaf five-yard line, Fletcher connected with Fettig and Ben Lyons (North Olmstead, Ohio/Ohio Distance & Electronic Learning Academy)' point-after kick attempt sailed through the uprights. St. Olaf drove to the UNW 31 in the remaining minute and change, but the Eagles secondary batted away Nate Penz's hail mary to preserve an exciting victory.
Simon-Wallace rushed 12 times for 101 yards while Fletcher completed 20 of 31 passes for 229 yards and two scores, including a 10-yard touchdown throw to Joe Sutton(Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde St. Margaret's) in the first quarter. Before his game-winning PAT, Lyons rebounded from the second quarter missed field goal to make a 20-yarder as the teams went into halftime, when the Oles led 16-10.
Josh Sinnen (Waconia, Minn./Waconia), who rushed for 1,100 yards n 2013, went 41 yards on 14 carries. Sutton led the team with seven receptions and 78 yards.
For St. Olaf, Penz was 24 of 35 for 197 yards and a touchdown. J.J. Strnad rushed 16 times for 105 yards and a TD for the Oles. Strnad was one of three St. Olaf receivers to catch at least five passes.
Fueled by an emotional victory, Northwestern (1-0) will head south to Eureka College next Saturday to open its Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) schedule with kickoff at Ronald Reagan's alma mater scheduled for 1 p.m.