Seventh-ranked Northwestern defeated Dakota Wesleyan 44-30 in front of 2,800 fans at DeValois Stadium, Korver Field Saturday night. It was the home opener for the Red Raiders who improve to 2-0 overall this season. DWU falls to 1-1.
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The visiting Tigers grabbed a 7-0 lead as they marched 65 yards in nine plays on their opening drive, capped off by a Raymond Blossum one-yard run. Northwestern scored on their ensuing possession off a 32-yard touchdown pass from Craig Hector to Tyler Reichle. The extra-point attempt was blocked by DWU, who still held the lead, 7-6.
DWU increased the lead to 14-6 on their next possession as they capped off an impressive nine play, 71-yard drive with a Jon Doom one-yard run. The Red Raiders, however, responded once again with a scoring drive of their own when Hector found Seth Moen in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.
NWC grabbed their first lead in the second quarter on a 40-yard field goal by Grant Mosier with 7:06 left to play in the first half. They extended the lead to 23-14 when Hector scored his third touchdown of the game on a 27-yard run with 2:17 left to go in the half. DWU converted a 44-yard field goal as time expired to close the gap to 23-17 at the half.
Dakota Wesleyan came up with the first big play of the second half when Dane Carlson intercepted a Hector pass on the very first play and ran it back 33-yards to tie the game at 23. The extra point attempt failed, however.
Northwestern grabbed the lead back on their next possession on a 15-yard scoring pass from Hector to Tim Naiman. DWU tied the game up once again, when, after a Red Raider turnover, Colby McGinley scored on a three-yard run with 6:53 left in the third quarter.
With the score tied at 30, NWC took the lead for good late in the third quarter when Hector found Moen again in the end zone for a 14-yard score. The duo connected one more time in the fourth quarter, a 51-yard touchdown strike, to seal the victory.
Hector completed 25-36 passes for a career-high 377 yards and five touchdowns. It was the most yards by a Red Raider quarterback since 1992 (Adam Tyrrell-411 vs Baker). He completed at least one pass to nine different receivers, led by Tyler Reichle with seven catches for 143 yards and one score. Moen caught four passes for a career-best 72 yards and three touchdowns. Taylor Malm led the NWC ground attack with 15 carries for 53 yards. He also added six catches for 67 yards. Hector also rushed for a touchdown, his sixth touchdown of the game.
Defensively, Northwestern recorded eight sacks against the Tigers. Andrew Lundgren had three while Cody Van Sloten was credited with 2.5. Kadrian Hardersen totaled a game-high 9.5 total tackles and Nate Jansen and Scott Stahl each added seven. The Red Raiders had two interceptions, one each by Hardersen and freshman Jordan Halvorsen.
Up next for NWC is a showdown with top-ranked USF on Saturday, Sept. 15, in Sioux Falls. Kickoff slated for 1:00 pm.
2008 media guide
