Freshman quarterback Deven Bollinger threw for a game record 291 yards and Trevor Cunningham caught 145 yards of those passes, good enough for second all-time in a Northwestern game. But both players would have liked just a few more inches added on to their totals. Bollinger’s pass with just 4.8-seconds left in the game fell just inches shy of a first down, resulting in a 34-27 loss to Palisades on Friday.

Bollinger’s pass on a fourth and six from the Pirates nine-yard line was caught by Cunningham on the sideline. When chains were brought across the field and stretched out, the Tigers had missed the first down by about an inch, giving the ball to Palisades.

“In all honesty, I didn’t see where his feet were,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “I was just sure that the play we called would have been enough for a first down, but we came up short. I would have liked to see how it would have played out if we had gotten that last shot at the end zone.”

Snyder said the game shouldn’t have come down to that final fourth-down play. The Tigers made too many mistakes that came back to bite them. One of the biggest concerns might have been the penalties that have haunted a normally disciplined team. Northwestern was penalized eight times for 69 yards against the Pirates, with many coming at key times. On the season, the Tigers have been called for penalties 20 times for 161 yards, which is catching up quickly to last season’s total of 484 yards on 48 penalties.

The miscues included two personal fouls and three encroachment penalties on the defense, one of which came on a fourth-and-two that gave Palisades a new set of downs at the Northwestern 12. The Pirates’ Jared Colletti took the handoff on the next play and ran into the end zone.

Northwestern also continued a trend of not scoring early in games, getting shutout once again in the first quarter. The Tigers have scored just 20 first-half points through three games this season, which also concerns Snyder.

“Once again, we came out lazy,” said Snyder. “Last week in the second half, we had guys swarming after the ball, there would be five or six guys running down the play. Early [Friday night against Palisades], we had 10 guys giving up on the play sometimes.

“Just too many mistakes. They’re a well-coached team and they’ll take advantage of those things.”

Northwestern seemed to take control in the second half, scoring on its opening drive when Bollinger hit Cunningham on a 43-yard pass that Cunningham pulled away from a Palisades defender at the five-yard line and carried into the end zone. Hunter Miller’s point-after made it 21-17 Northwestern. Cunningham scored again on a 57-yard pass play with 6:40 left in the third.

Palisades dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points, with the last strike coming on a 60-yard pass play from Ethan Brader to Drew Nickles.

In the opening game of the season, Bollinger threw for 241 yards, good enough for second all-time in a game for Northwestern. He moved into first on the all-time list with his 291 yards passing against Palisades, besting Mike Heintzelmann’s old record of 264 yards set in 1975.

Bollinger’s favorite receiver, Cunningham, now has the top two games for yards by a receiver in school history after catching 145 yards of passes, good enough for second place, behind his record-setting week one performance when he caught 184 yards of passes from Bollinger.

Cunningham also caught three touchdown passes, putting him second on the all-time list for touchdown catches in a game, just behind Cam Richardson, who caught four in one game two seasons ago.

The loss dropped Northwestern to 2-1 on the season, putting them in a three-way tie with Salisbury and Southern Lehigh for the top spot in the Colonial League’s West Division. Northwestern would hold the tie-breaker over Salisbury thanks to a win over the Falcons in week two. The Tigers play Southern Lehigh October 14 at Tiger Stadium. This week, Northwestern is also home, hosting Wilson.