Justin Morin and his Northwestern teammates lined up for pregame ceremonies. Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

The players on the Northwestern (Minn.) football team were excited to play their first game at the university’s newly renovated stadium.

And after the Eagles pulled out a dramatic win in front of a boisterous crowd, there is a good chance the fans are excited for more games at Reynolds Field as well.

Northwestern debuted its new digs during a non-conference game with St. Olaf. The game was played at night under the lights – something that had never been done before on campus.

“I would say this was the most highly anticipated game that I have been a part of since 2010,” said Northwestern quarterback Jacob Fletcher, who passed for 229 yards in the Eagles’ 17-16 win over the Oles. “Around the school, there was a lot of hype. Within the team, I think we were especially excited to kick off our new stadium on a good note.”

“It was quite a way to open up a stadium. No doubt about that,” head coach Kirk Talley added. “Whenever you play in front of a big crowd like that and it’s loud and they’re rooting for you, it’s kind of a special thing. So the guys were geeked up.”

The near-record crowd at Reynolds Field was at its loudest when Fletcher completed a 5-yard pass to Jacob Fettig for a touchdown. Ben Lyons banged through the point after and the Eagles took their first lead of the night with 1:20 remaining in the game.

“The pass itself – it wasn’t a great throw. It was actually a very mediocre, poor throw. But Jacob Fettig was able to make the catch and get into the end zone,” Fletcher said. “And instantly, the crowd just went crazy. It was the loudest that I’ve ever heard our fan base get since I’ve been playing here.”

The 2,891 people on hand roared throughout the game, which was something the team had to adjust to.

“On some of our third downs, our fans were so excited that they were getting louder. It was hard to hear at the line,” Fletcher said. “So there were challenges just trying to adjust to that kind of exciting atmosphere with so many people.

“It was our biggest strength as well,” he added. “Our fan base provided the energy and the life that we needed to continue to keep fighting throughout the game.”

The $11 million renovation project began in late March with a formal groundbreaking following in April.

The football field, which is also used for soccer and lacrosse, upgraded from a grass surface field turf. The renovated baseball and softball fields, which surround the stadium, feature turf as well. The football field was rotated as well, so it no longer overlaps with other campus fields.

“It’s probably the most noticeable thing right away when you walk into the new Reynolds Field,” Fletcher said.

The bleachers, which were in need of repair, have been upgraded and all four fields feature lights for the first time in school history. The project also involved building four team-specific locker rooms.

Northwestern (Minn.) athletics photo by Channing Smith

“It’s been fantastic,” Talley said. “Our facility is a real blessing to us. It was one of those situations where we weren’t really trying to do anything but upgrade what we had.

“This was a team effort from the perspective of a lot of people donating money,” the coach added.

Now with new facilities in place, Talley hopes the football program can utilize the upgrade to build the program and cultivate continued success.

“In the past, we always felt like it didn’t hurt us in our recruiting,” Talley explained. “But we didn’t think our facilities helped us at all. We never talked about them unless somebody asked.

“And now, that’s one of the things we’re going to emphasize.”

Northwestern will play four more home games at Reynolds Field this season. Fletcher hopes the excitement from Saturday’s non-conference win brings fans to the stadium for UMAC play throughout the fall.

But regardless of how the remainder of the season plays out, the players appreciate what they have at their home field.

“It’s hard to put into words exactly how different this change is because it has really raised the bar for Eagle athletics,” Fletcher said. “It’s definitely a big atmosphere change.

“Everyone is so happy with all that has been taking place. It’s just icing on the cake to be able to have a little bit of success – especially in our first game.”

Augsburg honors Nelson

A new video scoreboard was installed at Augsburg College on the 100th birthday of Edor Nelson, the man for which the football field is named, during a celebration with the former coach on Aug. 18.

Sadly, Nelson passed away nine days later.

“I’m personally grateful that we were able to recognize his legacy by dedicating our new scoreboard in his honor on the Edor Nelson Field,” Augsburg president Paul Pribbenow said in a press release. “Few people in Augsburg’s history could claim as long and lasting an impact on this college as Edor Nelson.”

Nelson was a coach and teacher at Augsburg for 33 years. He coached football from 1947-1969. He also coached baseball from 1946-1979. Additionally, Nelson helped establish the school’s wrestling and men’s hockey programs. He coached wrestling from 1949-1963 and coached hockey during the 1956-57 season.

The rest of the West

Nate Carrier scored two second half touchdowns to help Loras pull away with a 39-17 win over Elmhurst at the Rock Bowl. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak and was the Duhawks' first win at home in nearly two years. It also marked Loras' first opening day victory since 2005. … Rod Sandberg's debut as Whitworth's head coach was a successful one as the Pirates topped Lewis and Clark, 63-10. It was Whitworth's first conference-opening win since 1990. … The UW-La Crosse defense forced six turnovers, helping the Eagles defeat Dubuque, 24-8. … Hamline scored on four of its five first half possessions on its way to a 37-6 win over Minnesota-Morris. The 31-point win was the Pipers' widest margin of victory since 2009. … Sawyer Petre kicked the go-ahead field goal with 2:58 to play, helping Puget Sound get past Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 13-10. Petre also hit from 23 yards in the Loggers' win while Max Gilbert keyed the defense with two interceptions. …. St. Scholastica raced out to a 15-point halftime lead and benefited from Ripon missing two point-after attempts in a 28-27 victory. The Saints won Kurt Ramler's first game as head coach despite being outgained in total yards. … George Fox began with a bang as Grant Schroeder completed a 53-yard pass and ran for a 16-yard touchdown on the Bruins' first offensive series in 45 years. However Arizona Christian spoiled George Fox's return to the gridiron, 30-27. … Jacob Zilbar recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass and the offense cruised as UW-Platteville beat Buena Vista, 63-3. … Martin Luther scored 53 first half points and blasted Maranatha Baptist, 63-24. … UW-Whitewater tied a school record with 10 touchdowns in a 73-7 win over Waldorf (Iowa).

Rank ‘em

The West Region has eight teams ranked in this week’s Top 25, with four squads among the top-10.

UW-Whitewater remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the country.

Linfield dropped to No. 5 when Wesley moved up to No. 4. Bethel and UW-Platteville stayed ranked Nos. 7 and 8.

St. Thomas will spend another week ranked No. 11 while Wartburg and Pacific Lutheran each moved up two spots to Nos. 15 and 17, respectively. UW-Oshkosh rounds out the ranked teams in the Region at No. 25.

Chapman (29), St. John’s (23), Concordia-Moorhead (21), Redlands (19) and Willamette (12) were among the other schools receiving votes.

Number of the week

0 – As in the number of miles St. Thomas traveled this week. In fact, it’s the same number of miles the Tommies will travel the next two weeks as well. UST has six home games this season, including three in a row to start the year. Of the Tommies’ remaining four games, they will only have to travel a total of 208 miles round trip. They will make the three-mile drive to Hamline, travel 13 miles to Bethel and take a pair of 44-mile trips to Northfield, Minn., to play St. Olaf and Carleton.

Looking ahead

In a battle of ranked teams, No. 15 Wartburg welcomes No. 7 Bethel on Saturday. The Knights are coming off a win over Augsburg while Bethel is set to begin its 2014 campaign. The game could tell us a lot about both the IIAC and MIAC as the two reigning champs square off.

No. 8 UW-Platteville will host Dubuque to Ralph Davis Pioneer Stadium. It will be the Pioneers’ first home game since a tornado damaged the stadium and other parts of campus this summer. Also in WIAC non-conference play, No. 1 UW-Whitewater will travel to previously ranked Franklin in a playoff rematch from last season.

A couple of games pitting SCIAC teams versus NWC opponents are slated this weekend. Cal Lutheran plays at No. 17 Pacific Lutheran while No. 5 Linfield travels to Chapman. Elsewhere in the SCIAC, defending champion Redlands hosts No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor It will be the third time in 12 months the teams have played.

UMAC play begins this weekend. St. Scholastica begins its title defense against on the road at Iowa Wesleyan.

Be heard

Do you have a story idea for the Around the West column? Contact me about approaching milestones, broken records, break-out players or any other storylines in the West. Or just drop me a note and let me know what you like or don’t about the column. All ideas and feedback are welcome. Email me at josh.smith@d3sports.com or follow me on Twitter at @DU_Josh_Smith.