BY ST. NORBERT COLLEGE ATHLETICS
APPLETON – St. Norbert College football team took another step toward clinching the Midwest Conference North Division title by dispatching Lawrence University 46-0 at the Banta Bowl in Appleton Oct. 20.
The Green Knights (6-1 overall, 3-0 MWC North) held the Vikings (1-6, 0-3) to just 59 yards of total offense and four first downs.
St. Norbert took control after a scoreless first quarter.
Lawrence lost 17 yards to open a series, leading to Mike Olijnyk registering a safety on the next play.
The Green Knights parlayed the short field into a scoring drive, with Matt Galanopoulos corralling a 5-yard touchdown pass from Drew Rhodes for a 9-0 lead with 6:18 left in the second quarter.
St. Norbert then picked up a second safety after a punt snap went awry with 1:06 left before halftime.
The Green Knights went 74 yards in six plays after the free kick, with Rhodes connecting on a 41-yard touchdown pass to Drew Chavarria for an 18-0 halftime lead.
St. Norbert had the wind at its back in the third quarter and put the game away with three touchdowns.
Galanopoulos scored on touchdown runs of 12 and 4 yards and Nate Ihlenfeldt followed with a 5-yard run for a 39-0 lead.
Colin Bursik’s 8-yard run – his first collegiate touchdown – with 10:11 remaining accounted for the game’s final points.
St. Norbert held Lawrence to minus-27 yards rushing, the sixth-best game against the run in school history. The Green Knights did not yield a first down on the ground – the first time that’s happened since an 18-7 win over Lake Forest College Oct. 5, 1985.
The two safeties by the St. Norbert defense was just the second time in school history the Green Knights achieved that, the other in a 62-0 win over Lake Forest Sept. 27, 2009.
St. Norbert recorded 426 yards of total offense, with 328 coming on the ground, and converted 10-16 third-down opportunities. St. Norbert rushed on 63 of its 78 offensive plays. Â Â Â Â Â Rhodes rushed 18 times for 102 yards, while Ihlenfeldt had 75 yards on 15 carries. Matt Vanden Heuvel had 11 carries for 59 yards, while Galanopoulos had 58 yards on nine rushes. Rhodes completed 8-15 passes for 98 yards.
Olijnyk and Matt Barrett had seven tackles apiece for the St. Norbert defense.
Wyatt Lee, who was leading NCAA Division III in tackles coming into the game, posted a career-high 23 tackles for the Vikings.
The Green Knights return home Oct. 27 when they host Macalester College in a 1:00 Homecoming game.
Box score
St. Norbert: 0, 18, 21, 7 – 46
Lawrence: 0, 0, 0, 0 – 0