SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern College football team (12-2, 9-1 GPAC), being one of the four remaining National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), battled the No. 2-ranked Morningside Mustangs (13-0, 10-0 GPAC) in the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) Semifinal round, falling 28-19 to bring another great season of Raider football to a close.
Morningside received the opening kickoff and immediately Tanner Oleson (Jr., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) gets Raider fans into it on the second play of the day with an interception at midfield. The Mustang defense keeps Northwestern out of the endzone on their opening possession but Eli Stader (So., Cedar Grove, Wis./Oostburg) knocks through a 36-yard field goal.
Morningside doesn’t take long to strike back as Joe Dolincheck finds Zach Norton for a 69-yard strike to give the Mustangs a 7-3 advantage. The next Raider possession ends with an interception deep in Raider territory, setting up Dolincheck and company at the 11-yard line. The Northwestern defense sets up a fourth-down-and-three from the four, and Dolincheck’s pass falls to the ground as the defense comes up with a massive stop early in the game.
Tyson Kooima (Sr., Hull, Iowa/Western Christian) takes a shot on the next Northwestern possession finding Michael Storey (Jr., Spencer, Iowa/Spencer) for 42 yards over the middle. The very next pass results in a 40-yard strike from Kooima to Cade Moser (Sr., Rock Valley, Iowa/Rock Valley Community) for the first Raider touchdown of the day! The Raider defense kept up the pressure the next Morningside possession, getting shots on Dolincheck and making him uncomfortable in the passing game.
Brennan Holder (Fr., Rockwell City, Iowa/South Central Calhoun) blocks his second punt in as many games to set up the Raider offense at the Morningside 20-yard line. The Mustang defense holds firm as Stader nails his second field goal of the game from 25 yards out to give Northwestern the 13-7 lead after one. The made field goal at the end of the quarter tied the Northwestern program single-season record for made field goals in a season at 12, which was set by Stader himself last season.
For the fourth time in the half, the Raider defense shut down the Mustang offense. The Raider offense can’t get anything going, and Morningside would take the lead on their next possession, leading 14-13 with 7:28 to play in the half.
A one-handed catch from Blake Anderson (Jr., Oakland, Neb./West Point-Beemer) would come up with a one-handed grab to set up the Raiders inside the five-yard line but a fumble on the next play would result in a Raider turnover. Jaden Snyder (R-So., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) would be the hero on the next drive, timing his hit perfectly on third down to force the Mustangs to a three-and-out, and not allowing the momentum to fully shift to Morningside.
On third down, Kooima bounces around for a while before finding Moser for 25 yards to set up a first down inside the Morningside 30-yard line. Back-to-back-to-back pass interference calls on both sides, finally set the Raiders up at the 5-yard line. The Raiders, thanks to Stader’s third field goal of the afternoon, would take a 16-14 lead into the locker room.
Northwestern got the ball begin the second half, and Kooima continued to fling the ball around the field. Finding Moser after being chased out of the pocket for 30 yards, set up the Raiders at the Mustang 30-yard line. Again, the Morningside defense held the Raiders out of the endzone setting up a 33-yard field goal attempt for Stader, but was pushed wide right.
Morningside would find their groove in the third quarter as Dolincheck led a methodical drive for the first Mustang possession of the second half. Going 7-for-8 through the air, punching it in with a 7-yard touchdown toss to give Morningside the lead back at 21-16.
Morningside was driving once again, but Snyder picked up his eighth interception of the season to stop some of the bleeding and get Kooima and company back on the field. Kooima once again struck deep, finding Storey 40 yards down field setting up a first-and-goal from the seven-yard line. Once again, Northwestern would be forced to settle for three as Stader knocks in a 24-yard field goal – his fourth of the game – to cut the Morningside lead to 21-19.
Morningside’s next drive stalls out, thanks to back-to-back false start penalties. The Raider pass defense holds Dolincheck and the Mustang wide outs at bay, forcing a three-and-out. Northwestern drives into the red zone but the drive abruptly ends with a pick in the endzone, giving Morningside the ball with 12:15 to play with the 21-19 lead.
The following Morningside drive saw Dolincheck again lead a methodical drive down the field. 3rd & 10 from the NWC 32-yard line, saw the Raider defense hold, but Morningside would keep the offense on the field for the 4th & 7. Dolincheck would find Caleb Schweigart to keep the Mustang drive alive. Eventually, Morningside would punch it in to extend their lead to 28-19 with six minutes to play.
With five minutes to go, Kooima led another Raider drive, but the drive would again stall and would end on a turnover on downs. Morningside would run out the clock to conclude the rematch.
After a relatively quiet first half that saw both defenses make stops, the second half saw the yardage pile up, as the two teams combined for 850+ yards of total offense. The Raiders had 454 yards of total offense, but could punch the ball across the goal line once.
Kooima went 24-for-46 through the air with 360 yards and one touchdown pass. Moser brought in six catches for 129 yards, securing the one Raider touchdown of the day. Storey had four receptions for 99 yards, and Anderson had seven grabs for 87 yards. Defensively, Parker Fryar (So., Waukee, Iowa/Van Meter) recorded 17 tackles with eight of them being solo. Snyder and Oleson both brought in interceptions, a rare feat against Morningside and Dolincheck.
Stader broke his single-season made field goals record with his four field goals on the day. The record was officially broken at the end of the half, his third make of the afternoon.
The Northwestern football season comes to an end with an overall record of 12-2, with two straight appearances in the semifinals. The Raiders held a 9-1 mark in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play and were ranked inside the top-5 in the NAIA all season long. Both losses on the season came to the Mustangs of Morningside, in tough hard fought one possession contests.
