Sept. 9, 2006

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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern knew it was facing a dangerous and talented I-AA program this week. On Saturday, the Wildcats found out first-hand how tough the nation's second-ranked I-AA program is.

New Hampshire's Ricky Santos scored three touchdowns and passed to David Ball for two more, sending the UNH Wildcats past the NU Wildcats 34-17 Saturday at Ryan Field.

Northwestern (1-1) was playing its first home game since the death of coach Randy Walker from a heart attack June 29 and honored the coach throughout the day.

The team wore patches in tribute to Walker. The Northwestern band, joined by high schools, played "Amazing Grace" at halftime as Walker's face was shown on the scoreboard.

Santos completed 17 of 21 passes for 197 yards by halftime as New Hampshire (1-0) took a 10-point lead in its opener. New Hampshire's defense, led by tackle Brendan St. Peter, shut out Northwestern in the second half, four times stopping fourth-down attempts.

Santos was masterful during a two-minute drive closing the first half, hitting a 23-yard pass to Keith LeVan, a 27-yarder to an open Aaron Brown and then a 13-yard TD pass to Ball who made a great catch for the score even as he was interfered with by Deante Battle. The seven-play, 81-yard drive put New Hampshire up 27-17 at halftime. It was Ball's 47th career TD pass, leaving him three behind Jerry Rice's all-time Division I-AA record.

New Hampshire made it 34-17 when Santos sneaked in from the 1 on the second play of the final quarter, a score set up by Matt Parent's recovery of quarterback Mike Kafka's fumble at the Northwestern 17.

Santos directed a 77-yard drive early in the second quarter, hitting LeVan for 29 yards to the Northwestern 5 and carrying it from the 1 for his second TD of the first half.

Running a no-huddle offense that hurt the Northwestern defense, New Hampshire drove 80 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown on the game's first possession. Santos completed five passes to Ball for 45 yards, including a 20-yard TD toss less than four minutes into the game.

New Hampshire's T.J. Taylor recovered a fumble by Northwestern's Gerard Hamlett on the ensuing kickoff at the 14, leading to a 1-yard another scoring run by Santos. Northwestern's Adam Hahn blocked the extra point attempt by Tom Bishop, leaving New Hampshire's lead at 13-0.

Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton broke a 61-yard run to the New Hampshire 9 on Northwestern's first possession and two plays later, Terrell Jordan ran seven yards for the touchdown.

After Northwestern stopped New Hampshire on the next series, the Wildcats drove 54 yards in seven plays with Sutton taking it from the 6 after a pair of penalties on New Hampshire, one for roughing the passer. The PAT gave Northwestern a 14-13 lead, its last of the day.

A moment of silence was held 12 minutes before kickoff and then a video tribute to Walker was played on a large scoreboard that hangs behind the team's training center. Members of Walker's family participated in the pregame coin flip.

When the team arrived about two hours before kickoff, several hundred fans lined the newly designated path known as "Walker Way" to greet and cheer them as they got off their bus and headed to their football center. Painted on each side of Ryan Field between the 20- and 30-yard lines was a rectangular "Walk" in black letters.

Walker was also remembered during tributes in the season opener when Northwestern played at Miami (Ohio), his alma mater.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)

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