(ST. NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) – DE PERE – St. Norbert College scored two defensive touchdowns 50 seconds apart and pitched its first shutout of the season with a 44-0 win over Eureka College in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game in front of a sun-splashed Homecoming crowd at Schneider Stadium.
The Green Knights (3-3, 3-1 NACC) returned the game’s opening kickoff to the Eureka 49-yard line and then melted the first half of the first quarter off the clock with a 13-play drive to take a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Michael Meneguzzo to Bailey Turenne.
Neither team could get untracked until St. Norbert broke things open with a pair of interception returns for touchdowns early in the second quarter. Sean Gilles (pictured, No. 17) returned a pick 25 yards for a 14-0 lead with 9:59 left in the second quarter. Alex Carter then returned a pilfer of his own 25 yards for another score at the 9:09 mark and a 21-0 edge. St. Norbert then used another turnover to set up another touchdown before halftime. Beau Allison’s forced fumble and recovery at the Eureka 29 set up Will Darden’s 1-yard plunge five plays later for a 27-0 lead with 40 seconds left before halftime.
St. Norbert pulled away in the second half, with Tyler Juergensen connecting on a 41-yard field goal on the Green Knights’ first series of the third quarter. Tanner Hora then hit Hunter Thiel for a 7-yard touchdown with 4:45 left in the third quarter and a 37-0 lead. The Green Knights closed out the scoring on Darden’s 8-yard run with 11:20 remaining.
Eureka drove to the St. Norbert 1-yard line late in the game, but the Green Knights’ defense stiffened with two stops from the 1 inside a minute remaining.
St. Norbert outgained 232-173 in total offense, but benefitted from an average starting field position of the 50-yard line. McVane rushed 14 times for 75 yards, while Will Darden had 16 carries for 54 yards. Turenne caught five passes for 37 yards and one touchdown.
John Seitz and Brian Treacy led the Green Knights with seven tackles apiece, with Seitz getting 1 1/2 tackles-for-loss. Treacy added an interception in the second half when he wrestled the ball away from a Eureka receiver in a joint catch situation.
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