MITCHELL, S.D. – The No. 2-ranked Northwestern College football team (8-0, 7-0 GPAC) remains perfect on the season with their second shutout of the season, defeating the Tigers of Dakota Wesleyan University (3-5, 3-4 GPAC) 50-0 in South Dakota Saturday afternoon.
The stout Raider defense stymied the Tiger attack early on in the contest, ending the first two DWU drives of the day with interceptions; and the offense made quick use of both short-field possessions. Jalyn Gramstad (Sr., Lester, Iowa/West Lyon) started the momentum for the Raiders with a pick that he returned 38-yards to set up a 1 & 10 at the DWU 12 that Logan Meyer (So., Alvord, Iowa/West Lyon) promptly took to the endzone for the first score of the afternoon.
“Defense got us off to a great start and our offense was able to capitalize on the momentum,” said head coach Matt McCarty.
Liam Stubbe (Sr., Ackley, Iowa/AGWSR) followed suit the next DWU possession with his first interception of the season. Following suit from the first scenario, Meyer capped off the short field with his second touchdown of the day to make it 14-0 Raiders midway through the first quarter. Coach McCarty noted, “Logan Meyer ran hard and had a huge day for us.” Before the end of the first quarter, Blake Fryar (Jr., Waukee, Iowa/Van Meter) joined the action with his lone touchdown toss of the day, connecting with Cade Moser (Sr., Rock Valley, Iowa/Rock Valley Community) for 38-yards.
Midway through the second quarter, Meyer picked up his third score of the day capping off a 12-play, 59-yard drive. Tyson Kooima (Sr., Hull, Iowa/Western Christian) took his first snaps of the day in the second quarter, also connecting with Moser for a 27-yard touchdown. The Raiders would take a 33-0 into the locker room.
The third quarter saw only one Raider score as Kooima connected with Meyer out of the backfield from 23-yards out to cap off a 7-play, 63-yard drive. In the fourth quarter, Kooima picked up his third passing touchdown of the day, finding Michael Storey (Jr., Spencer, Iowa/Spencer). With just over five minutes left to goal, Eli Stader (So., Cedar Grove, Wis./Oostburg) converted a 43-yard field goal to cap of the Northwestern scoring, making it 50-0.
McCarty commented on his defense, “they played well today and dominated as a unit.” The three interceptions. Noah Van’t Hof (Sr., Lester, Iowa/West Lyon) led all tacklers with 11 tackles. Jessen Reinking (Jr., Kingsley, Iowa/Kingsley-Pierson) and Parker Fryar (So., Waukee, Iowa/Van Meter) both had five tackles. Tanner Oleson (Sr., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) recorded the third interception for the Raiders on the day. As a team, Northwestern’s defense now has 16 interceptions on the season.
Up Next: The Raiders return to Korver Field at De Valois Stadium next Saturday, October 30 to host the Dordt University Defenders (5-2, 5-2 GPAC) in a top-20 match-up in Orange City.
