Tyson Kooima threw for a season-high 296 yards and the Raider defense shut down the potent Dakota Wesleyan offense in Northwestern’s 41-13 road win over the Tigers in a match-up played under the lights of Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell, S.D.
Head Coach Matt McCarty’s squad stays unbeaten, improving to 3-0 in the GPAC, 4-0 overall. Dakota Wesleyan drops to 0-2 in the conference, 1-3 overall.
Northwestern raced out to a 28-3 halftime lead, reaching the endzone on four of its first five possessions, and pushed the lead to 38-3 just before the end of the third quarter. The Raider D was just as dominant, limiting the eighth-best offense in the NAIA to just over 100 yards through three quarters, 262 for the game and well below their season average of 533 yards per game. Northwestern forced DWU to punt on six of eight possessions in the second and third quarters and stopped the Tigers on fourth down twice during that span.
Kooima completed 19-of-29 passes for a season-high 296 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 28 yards and a score. Jacob Kalogonis surpassed 100-yards rushing for the second straight and third overall game of the season, totaling 133 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns. The leading rusher in the GPAC (total yards) averaged 5.5 yards per carry and has 15 100-yard games for his career. Shane Solberg caught seven passes for a career-best 150 yards and two touchdowns and Canon Flores totaled six catches for 68 yards.
