Sioux Falls at Northwestern

• PREVIEW
• BOXSCORE

The Raiders suffered their first loss of the season, 14-17, to the University of Sioux Falls, in front of a capacity crowd at Korver Field. Both teams entered the contest undefeated and ranked in the top five as the Cougars were #3 and Northwestern was #5. Northwestern opened up a 7-0 lead and capped off an impressive 12 play, 62-yard drive on a six-yard Craig Hector run. After the Raider "D" stopped the Cougars on back-to-back drives, freshman Josh Hartman returned a USF punt 75 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half. USF cut the lead to 14-7 after quarterback Chad Cavender completed a 23-yard touchdown strike to Trey Erickson which ended the scoring in the opening half. 

Both defenses displayed their dominance in the third period as neither team put points on the board. USF tied the score early in final quarter when senior Mike Dvoracek scored on a three-yard run which capped off a five play, 37-yard drive. On the ensuing possession, the Cougars intercepted a Hector pass near midfield which helped set up the game winning, 40-yard field goal by Matt Lindgren. The Raiders had two chances to tie the score in the end, but the drives ended after a failed fourth down conversion and a Hector interception.

Offensively, the Raiders were led by Keith Sietstra who carried the ball 24 times for 53 yards. Hector totaled 118 all-purpose yards and completed 9-21 passes and scored one rushing touchdown. Defensively, sophomore Nathan Jansen led the Raiders with 11.5 tackles and one sack. Jordan Van Otterloo tallied seven tackles and Austin Janssen had 6.5 tackles and one sack.

The Raiders will travel to Seward, Neb., to play Concordia on Oct. 14. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.