Morningside at Northwestern

• PREVIEW
• BOXSCORE

Red Raiders meet on the center of the field in preparation for the Mustangs

This week's match-up features a pair of ranked teams as the #12 Red Raiders host the ninth-ranked Mustangs. Both teams finished the 2005 season in the top 25 with Morningside at third and NW at 17^th. Morningside, en route to a 12-1 season, the 2005 GPAC championship and a berth in the NAIA national semifinals, defeated Northwestern in the second game of the season in ’05 by the score of 52-6. 

Last week both teams were victorious as Morningside held on to defeat Midland Lutheran, 21-16, and the Red Raiders handled the Dakota State Trojans, 44-7. The Mustangs jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter behind a pair of touchdowns by junior running back Nick Reigle. Reigle scored on a one-yard run and then teamed up with freshman quarterback Tim Richard for a 20-yard catch. Three straight MLU field goals cut the Mustang lead to 14-9 at the end of the third quarter. At the start of the fourth period, Richard connected with tight end Justin Hargens on a two-yard touchdown pass to up the lead to 21-9 with just over ten minutes to go. The Warriors responded two possessions later with a three play, 60-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to five. The Morningside defense came up big in the end as they stopped two Midland drives in the last four minutes to get the win. Richard, making his collegiate debut after the graduation of GPAC player-of-the-year Craig Fobbe, threw for 156 yards on 16 completions and scored three touchdowns. The Mustangs had success in their ground game as they rushed for 187 net yards. Reigle led the way with 149 yards and a touchdown. The second team all-GPAC receiver duo of Cody Jaminet and Damon Mothershead accounted for 13 catches and 127 yards. Last season, the explosive pair caught 127 passes for 1,833 yards and 10 touchdowns. 

Andrew Lundgren and the D-line go after the Mustang running back

Morningside returns a trio of players on their defense who earned post-season accolades in ‘05and limited MLC’s all-GPAC running back Dustin Lindstrom to just 39 yards on 10 carries. Safety Chad Hustedt, an NAIA honorable mention All-American selection, amassed a team-high 141 tackles last season along with six interceptions. Linebacker E.J. Infanger was third on the team in tackles (85) and also was an NAIA honorable mention All-American. Tyler McClellan, with 34 tackles and 3.5 sacks, returns to anchor the D-line after he earned first team all-GPAC honors in 2005. 

The 12^th-ranked Red Raiders picked up where the 2005 season ended with an impressive 44-7 win over Dakota State. It is the sixth consecutive win dating back to last season when NW defeated Concordia 33-28. The Red Raiders excelled on both sides of the ball as the offense gained 389 total yards while the defense limited the Trojans to 137. Junior quarterback Craig Hector scored a career-high five touchdowns, four through the air (which ties a career high) and completed 14 of 20 passes for 211 yards. Receiver Tyler Reichle caught four passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns while tight end Blake Reinke added four catches for a team-high 90 yards and a score. Sophomore Seth Moen caught the other touchdown pass, a 25-yard strike in the first quarter. Senior running back Keith Sietstra led the rushing attack with 117 yards on just 15 carries. 

Defensively, the Red Raiders limited the Trojan running attack to just 23 yards on 38 carries. They also sacked the DSU quarterback five times and forced two turnovers including one interception which senior linebacker Austin Janssen ran back 40 yards for a touchdown. Sophomore Nathan Jansen led the defense with seven tackles and a sack. Blake Wolfswinkel tallied 5.5 tackles, and Andrew Lundgren recorded 4.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks. 

The Raiders will take to the road next week, Sept. 16, as they travel to Crete, Neb., to play Doane. Kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m.