After surrendering a touchdown on the game’s opening possession, Northwestern reeled off 42 consecutive points to produce a 42-7 nonconference victory over Louisiana-Monroe Saturday afternoon in Evanston, Ill.
Preston Stone hit 20 of 31 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns while Caleb Komolafe rushed for two scores as the Wildcats (3-2) strung together back-to-back wins for the first time since the end of the 2023 season.
Aidan Armenta completed 10 of 19 passes and a score while Braylon McReynolds posted 49 rushing yards for the Warhawks (3-2), who had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Armenta opened the game by leading the Warhawks on a seven-play, 75-yard drive capped by his 34-yard strike to Nic Trujillo for a 7-0 lead at the 10:47 mark.
The Wildcats responded immediately with a 61-yard march that ended with Komolafe going over the right side for a 3-yard score and a 7-7 tie.
Louisiana-Monroe zipped to Northwestern’s 20 on its next drive, but then went backward and Luke Stagg’s 45-yard field-goal attempt was no good.
On Northwestern’s next possession, Stone threaded together two straight big plays to reach the end zone. He scrambled for 30 yards, then hit Hayden Eligon II for a 37-yard score. Lawson Albright’s 2-point conversion gave the Wildcats a 15-7 lead at 13:57 of the second quarter.
Jack Olsen added a 34-yard field goal to push Northwestern’s lead to 18-7 at halftime.
Komolafe opened the second half by bursting down the left sideline for a 39-yard score as the Wildcats rang up 21 points in the third quarter to put the game away. Stone hooked up with Griffin Wilde for a short pass that turned into a 49-yard touchdown, then Stone’s 6-yard touchdown flip to Drew Wagner on fourth down pushed the margin to 39-7 with 16 seconds left in the third.
Northwestern finished with 515 total yards as Eligon caught three passes for 80 yards, Wilde snagged all four of his receptions in the second half for 64 yards and Wagner made six catches for 63 yards.
The Wildcats’ defense produced three sacks and seven tackles for loss while limiting the Warhawks to 273 total yards.
