HOW IT HAPPENED

• After going three and out in their first drive, the Prairie Wolves' offense bounced back in their second and in just two plays found the end zone. Carter Terry connected with Cole Siems down the middle of the field for a 90-yard touchdown. Austin Neufeld's successful PAT made the score, 7-0. 
• In their last possession of the first 15 minutes, Coach Keller's offense drove 60 yards on seven plays and topped things off with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Terry to Isaac Dannehl. NWU missed the PAT after a false start, 13-0. 
• The Nebraska Wesleyan defense allowed just 19 yards of total offense in the first quarter and forced five punts. 
• To start the second quarter, TJ Roybal intercepted Eureka's Lukas Tinkham to give the black and gold possession on the Red Devil's 35-yard line. Unfortunately, the drive ended without a score after a pair of incomplete passes and an offensive holding penalty.
• With 5:26 remaining in the first half, NWU's Austin Neufeld knocked in a 39-yard field goal to give the Prairie Wolves a 16-0 lead going into the break.
• To begin the second half, both teams' offenses struggled to get points on the board. It wasn't until Nebraska Wesleyan's third possession that fans saw someone find the end zone. Carter Terry earned his third and final passing touchdown of the day with an eight-yard score to Kaden Ewoldt, 23-0. 
• After three quarters, the NWU defense had allowed just 113 yards of total offense and zero points. 
• Eureka finally scored a touchdown to begin the fourth quarter. After a blown coverage by the Prairie Wolves' Secondary, Red Devil quarterback, Noah Berlett completed a pass to Sebastian Hill for a 27-yard score. Eureka attempted the two-point conversion, but it was no good. 
• Josh Romain ended all scoring for both teams with a 33-yard carry on 1st and 10. Carter Terry hit Terrance Heath in the end zone for the two-point conversion, 31-6. 
• Nebraska Wesleyan left Eureka, Ill. winning their season opener 31-6 over the Red Devils.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Individual

• Carter Terry (QB): 21-38, 357 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
• Josh Romain (RB): 18 attempts, 86 yards rushing, 1 rushing touchdown, 4 receptions, 28 yards receiving 
• Cole Siems (WR): 2 receptions, 101 yards receiving, 1 touchdown
• Isaac Dannehl (WR): 4 recpetions, 62 yards receiving, 1 touchdown
• Kaden Ewoldt (TE): 2 receptions, 8 yards receiving, 1 touchdown 
• Caleb Kyes (LB): 7 solo tackles, 3 assisted tackles, 10 total tackles 
• TJ Roybal (DL), Kodjo Atikpohou (DB), Jacob Gramann (DB): 1 interception each

• 102 rushing yard, 357 passing yards, 459 yards of total offense, 3 forced turnovers

HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLER'S COMMENTS

• "It was a Clint Eastwood game. There was good, there was bad, and there was ugly. That is what you can expect in your first game." 
• "Defensively, we couldn't have asked for much more. The guys shut down Eureka's offense and did a super job for their first game. The defensive line looked really good. We played all 11 defensive linemen that traveled with us. They provided the pressure that forced the three interceptions."
• "We did some good things offensively but left a lot of points out there. There are a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball, so we are going to have our growing pains."
• "Our return game was good. Victor Guzman did a great job returning punts and kicks. We need to be better on our coverages, but that is something that I know will get better as the season progresses. It is hard to replicate in practice."
• "We handled the road trip very well and will have another challenge with a long round trip to Mayville, ND next week. This is the first time Nebraska Wesleyan has played Mayville State University. It is going to be fun for us."

UP NEXT

The Prairie Wolves (1-0, 0-0) finish non-conference play on Saturday, September 10 in Mayville, North Dakota, where they will play Mayville State University at 1:00 p.m.