Fans did a double-take Saturday afternoon at Ryan Field when they saw #19 cut through the Towson defense and streak down the sideline for a 22-yard touchdown, his second of the quarter. No, it wasn’t Tyrell Sutton back for another exciting year at NU — it was true freshman halfback Arby Fields, who amassed 48 yards and two touchdowns in Northwestern’s 47-14 win over Towson University.

Fields was just one weapon in the Cats’ rushing arsenal Saturday. Junior halfback Stephen Simmons bludgeoned his way to a tough 77 yards on 18 carries and sophomore Scott Concannon ran for 32 yards and two touchdowns. Northwestern racked up an impressive 485 yards on the day, 221 of which were on the ground.

Even more exciting was senior quarterback Mike Kafka, who went 15-20 for 192 yards, completing his first seven throws for 92 yards. Known for his success running the ball last season, Kafka found himself more than comfortable in the pocket.

“It felt good. We just took what the defense gave us,” Kafka said. “Our playmakers stepped up and made plays.”

The ‘Cats struck early and often when sophomore Jacob Schmidt found the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown run seven minutes into the game after a pair of Kafka completions to senior wide receiver Andrew Brewer. Brewer finished the day with six catches for 145 yards and a touchdown.

The Wildcats’ next two drives both culminated in touchdowns by Arby Fields from 2 and 22 yards to give the Cats a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Towson struggled offensively on the day against a staunch Northwestern defense that held the Tigers to 65 rushing yards and just 205 total yards. It was only until the last play of the first quarter that the Towson offense was able to move the chains. The Cats’ defense was spearheaded by junior linebackers Quentin Davie, who had nine tackles, and Nate Williams, who had seven tackles. Junior cornerback Justin Vaughn nabbed an interception on the Northwestern goal line to end the first half.

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald attributed his team’s success to the different halfbacks he employed to wear down the Towson defense.

“They’ve all got different strengths,” Fitzgerald said. “We can utilize what they do well and play to their strengths […] That makes us very difficult to defend.”

The Tigers’ two scores came on a 1-yard touchdown run by Tremayne Dameron and a 33-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver David Newsom.

Towson’s Peter Athens threw 25 times for 140 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Northwestern second-string quarterback Dan Persa went 1-2 for 72 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.