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http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/12862247.htm
Posted on Mon, Oct. 10, 2005
Double wins
Eagles hold their opponents scoreless for six quarters in historic doubleheader
BY MIKE FERMOYLE
Pioneer Press
NORTHWESTERN (ST. PAUL) 59, TRINITY BIBLE 0
NORTHWESTERN (ST. PAUL) 47, MACALESTER 14
"I'm exhausted," Max Meagher admitted. "But it was great."
He had a good excuse for his fatigue. Meagher is a junior linebacker for Northwestern College of St. Paul, which had just played a historic football doubleheader — and won both games.
The Eagles blitzed Trinity Bible 59-0 Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Field on the Northwestern campus in Roseville. Then they traveled five miles down Snelling Avenue a few hours later to Macalester College and defeated the Scots 47-14.
No one seems clear on exactly what the archives have to say on the subject of two college football games in one day. Apparently it's been done, by teams in the 1920s and '30s that traveled a long way to games by train, and then played two teams from the same area in a single day. But no one had done it in at least 70 years until Northwestern took on the challenge.
For six quarters, the Eagles had no problems. They never allowed Trinity anywhere near their goal line, and they were nearly as efficient on both offense and defense in the first half at Macalester while establishing a 33-0 lead.
Steven Boggess had three touchdowns before the intermission, and Tom Tadych had three interceptions.
In the second half, things didn't go nearly as smoothly. The Eagles' running game pretty much disappeared, and even though Macalester (0-6) couldn't move the ball on the ground either, Scots quarterback Nick Hanks caused all sorts of problems for the Northwestern defense with his passing.
He wound up with 26 completions in 49 attempts for 309 yards and both of the Macalester touchdowns.
"They had some good plays," Meagher said, "and we weren't as disciplined as we should have been. It was just really tough mentally to keep our focus against two opponents in the same day."
A 57-yard scoring pass from Hanks to Tyler Schwecke, plus a two-point conversion run by Ben Dickinson, cut the Northwestern lead to 33-14 with 10:42 left in the nonconference game. And it wasn't until Dennis Holsman intercepted a Hanks pass and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown with 3:19 to go, that the Eagles' fifth consecutive victory was sealed.
So, having done this football doubleheader thing once, would Meagher want to try it again?
"Oh, yeah!" he said.
The victory over Trinity in the afternoon was the fourth for the Eagles (5-2 overall) in as many Upper Midwest Athletic Conference games, and it kept them in sole possession of first place in the UMAC standings.
During the week, the Northwestern team had been split into two groups. One group prepared to play against Trinity, the other against Macalester.
Most of the Eagles' starters were in the Macalester group, but about half the offensive starters were on the field for the first series against Trinity. Even though they hadn't really prepared to face the Lions' defense, they scored on the first play from scrimmage, a 45-yard run by Ben Freedman.
It took the Eagles two plays to score on their second possession. Aaron Hunter completed a pass to Nate Jasper for 46 yards, and John Polley went 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-0 with 10:44 remaining in the first quarter.
None of Northwestern's starters played beyond the first quarter against Trinity.
Several of the Trinity starters played the entire game, and unlike their Northwestern counterparts, they played both ways. They had to; the Lions had only 20 players suited up Saturday.
"Some of those Trinity kids who went both ways probably played more in this game than any of our guys will play in two games," Northwestern coach Kirk Talley said.
All five Northwestern running backs who played against Trinity — Freedman, Boggess, Aaron Pennington, Josh Peterson and Joe Steffenhagen — scored.
The touchdown by Steffenhagen was the most popular.
Steffenhagen, who is 5 foot 8 and weighs 166 pounds, has never let a right arm that was damaged at birth keep him from being active in sports.
He played on the line for his Orono High School football team, but served as a manager at Northwestern.
This year, he went out for the team and made the Eagles' roster as a running back.
Steffenhagen rushed 12 times for 36 yards and scored on a 4-yard run with 4:08 left in the fourth quarter.
"Now I think I know what it feels like to hit a home run to win a game," he said. "This has been a dream of mine for a long time. I was a lineman in high school, and the thing that all linemen dream about is scoring a touchdown."
Mike Fermoyle can be reached at mfermoyle@pioneerpress.com.
Posted on Mon, Oct. 10, 2005
Double wins
Eagles hold their opponents scoreless for six quarters in historic doubleheader
BY MIKE FERMOYLE
Pioneer Press
NORTHWESTERN (ST. PAUL) 59, TRINITY BIBLE 0
NORTHWESTERN (ST. PAUL) 47, MACALESTER 14
"I'm exhausted," Max Meagher admitted. "But it was great."
He had a good excuse for his fatigue. Meagher is a junior linebacker for Northwestern College of St. Paul, which had just played a historic football doubleheader — and won both games.
The Eagles blitzed Trinity Bible 59-0 Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Field on the Northwestern campus in Roseville. Then they traveled five miles down Snelling Avenue a few hours later to Macalester College and defeated the Scots 47-14.
No one seems clear on exactly what the archives have to say on the subject of two college football games in one day. Apparently it's been done, by teams in the 1920s and '30s that traveled a long way to games by train, and then played two teams from the same area in a single day. But no one had done it in at least 70 years until Northwestern took on the challenge.
For six quarters, the Eagles had no problems. They never allowed Trinity anywhere near their goal line, and they were nearly as efficient on both offense and defense in the first half at Macalester while establishing a 33-0 lead.
Steven Boggess had three touchdowns before the intermission, and Tom Tadych had three interceptions.
In the second half, things didn't go nearly as smoothly. The Eagles' running game pretty much disappeared, and even though Macalester (0-6) couldn't move the ball on the ground either, Scots quarterback Nick Hanks caused all sorts of problems for the Northwestern defense with his passing.
He wound up with 26 completions in 49 attempts for 309 yards and both of the Macalester touchdowns.
"They had some good plays," Meagher said, "and we weren't as disciplined as we should have been. It was just really tough mentally to keep our focus against two opponents in the same day."
A 57-yard scoring pass from Hanks to Tyler Schwecke, plus a two-point conversion run by Ben Dickinson, cut the Northwestern lead to 33-14 with 10:42 left in the nonconference game. And it wasn't until Dennis Holsman intercepted a Hanks pass and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown with 3:19 to go, that the Eagles' fifth consecutive victory was sealed.
So, having done this football doubleheader thing once, would Meagher want to try it again?
"Oh, yeah!" he said.
The victory over Trinity in the afternoon was the fourth for the Eagles (5-2 overall) in as many Upper Midwest Athletic Conference games, and it kept them in sole possession of first place in the UMAC standings.
During the week, the Northwestern team had been split into two groups. One group prepared to play against Trinity, the other against Macalester.
Most of the Eagles' starters were in the Macalester group, but about half the offensive starters were on the field for the first series against Trinity. Even though they hadn't really prepared to face the Lions' defense, they scored on the first play from scrimmage, a 45-yard run by Ben Freedman.
It took the Eagles two plays to score on their second possession. Aaron Hunter completed a pass to Nate Jasper for 46 yards, and John Polley went 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-0 with 10:44 remaining in the first quarter.
None of Northwestern's starters played beyond the first quarter against Trinity.
Several of the Trinity starters played the entire game, and unlike their Northwestern counterparts, they played both ways. They had to; the Lions had only 20 players suited up Saturday.
"Some of those Trinity kids who went both ways probably played more in this game than any of our guys will play in two games," Northwestern coach Kirk Talley said.
All five Northwestern running backs who played against Trinity — Freedman, Boggess, Aaron Pennington, Josh Peterson and Joe Steffenhagen — scored.
The touchdown by Steffenhagen was the most popular.
Steffenhagen, who is 5 foot 8 and weighs 166 pounds, has never let a right arm that was damaged at birth keep him from being active in sports.
He played on the line for his Orono High School football team, but served as a manager at Northwestern.
This year, he went out for the team and made the Eagles' roster as a running back.
Steffenhagen rushed 12 times for 36 yards and scored on a 4-yard run with 4:08 left in the fourth quarter.
"Now I think I know what it feels like to hit a home run to win a game," he said. "This has been a dream of mine for a long time. I was a lineman in high school, and the thing that all linemen dream about is scoring a touchdown."
Mike Fermoyle can be reached at mfermoyle@pioneerpress.com.