(ST NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) ROCKFORD, Ill. – St. Norbert College junior running back Jacob McVane’s historic day was a key factor in the Green Knights’ 28-14 win over Rockford University in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game at Sam Greeley Field.
McVane’s 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown helped keep the Green Knights on pace with the host Regents. It marked the first time in school history a St. Norbert player has returned a kickoff for a touchdown in consecutive games. McVane returned a kickoff 88 yards for a score against Wisconsin Lutheran College on Sept. 26.
St. Norbert forced a Rockford punt on the game’s opening possession and needed just five plays to move 66 yards to score on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Hora to Adam Westberg. Rockford then marched 75 yards in 13 plays to tie the game on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Vasavilbaso to Kenny Moten-Barden. McVane then returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, with a blocked extra point keeping the lead at 13-7. St. Norbert’s defense didn’t get much rest thanks to the quick score, with Rockford then moving 81 yards in six plays to score on a 9-yard touchdown from Vasavilbaso to Justin Winkler for a 14-13 Rockford lead.
Both teams traded possessions to open the second quarter before the Green Knights capped off a nine-play, 66-yard drive on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Hora to Westberg with 4:16 left before halftime. St. Norbert carried a 20-14 lead into halftime.
Both teams traded punts throughout a scoreless third quarter. St. Norbert took advantage of a short Rockford punt early in the fourth quarter and moved 64 yards on eight plays, capitalizing on a 43-yard scramble by Francisco Rodriguez to convert a third-and-20, by scoring on a McVane 6-yard touchdown run with 6:18 left. Westberg’s two-point conversion catch gave St. Norbert a 28-14 lead.
Rockford outgained St. Norbert 383-307. McVane finished with 159 rushing yards on 31 carries and totaled 241 all-purpose yards. Westberg caught four passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns.
Vasavilbaso led Rockford, completing 24 of 51 passes for 354 yards and two touchdowns.
Nick Junge led the St. Norbert defense with five tackles. St. Norbert had 11 passes broken up, with John Seitz posting three while Mateo Gonzalez, Cory Burton and Beau Allison all getting two apiece.
WIAC
UW-Platteville 31, UW-Stout Polytechnic 27u
MENOMONEE – Nathan Uselding completed 20-of-28 passes for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Pioneers to the win over the Blue Devils.
Chase Pemberton completed 33-of-44 passes for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns with 2 interceptions for Stout Polytechnic.
UW-Whitewater 24, UW-River Falls 16
WHITEWATER – Tommy Novotny rushed for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns on 23 carries to lead the Warhawks to the win over the Falcons.
Justin Klinkner completed just 8-of-25 passes for 38 yards.
Cade Fitzgerald completed 20-of-49 passes for 229 yards and a score for River Falls. He was intercepted 3 times.
Ben Wesolowski caught 7 passes for 87 yards for River Falls.
UW-Eau Claire 31, UW-Stevens Point 9
EAU CLAIRE – Paxton Rothmeier rushed for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns on 24 carries and Ayden Helder completed 15-of-25 passes for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Blugolds win over the Pointers.
Ryan Thompson completed 24-0f-38 passes for 221 yards for Stevens Point.
UW-La Crosse 32, UW-Oshkosh 31
OSHKOSH – Braeden Ott scored on a 12-yard pass from Kyle Haas with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter and Keaton Arendt scored on a 2-point conversion to give the Eagles the win over the Titans.
Haas completed 30-of-46 passes for 339 yards and 4 touchdowns for La Crosse with Nolan Wulf catching 7 passes for 114 yards.
Demir Ashiru led Oshkosh with 209 yards rushing on 19 carries and 228 yards passing with 16 completions on 28 attempts.
Midwest Conference
Lake Forest 72, Lawrence 13
LAKE FOREST, ILL – The Foresters piled up 514 yards of offense compared to 231 for the Vikings.
Lake Forest’s Ethan Springer completed 21-of-31 passes for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Jordan Pidala completed 10-of-21 passes for 159 yards to lead Lawrence which trailed 49-0 at halftime.
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