The Red Raider football team defeated Hastings this afternoon, 31-7, in a showdown between top 25 teams. Northwestern, ranked 10th in the last poll, improves to 4-1 while the 19th-ranked Broncos drop to 4-1.
The host Broncos scored on their first drive of the game when Dayton Edwards connected with Jordan Folkers on a 20-yard touchdown reception to take a 7-0 lead. Northwestern, which battled the strong winds in the first quarter, tied the game with 7:29 left to play in the first half on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Craig Hector to D.J. Hansen. After the Raider defense forced a Hastings punt, Northwestern grabbed the lead on their next drive on a one-yard run by Kyle Ochsner. The point-after attempt was blocked, however, so the Red Raiders led, 13-7. Northwestern forced another Hastings punt but the Broncos intercepted a Hector pass, and after a Red Raider penalty, took over at the NWC 35-yard line with 45 seconds left in the half. After a Broncos first down, NWC linebacker T.J. Lensch intercepted an Edwards pass and ran it back 81 yards for a touchdown with just 14 seconds left in the first half. Craig Hector converted the two-point conversion attempt to put NWC up 21-7 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Red Raiders dominated the play with a pair of long drives, the second of which led to a 24-yard, Grant Mosier field goal and extended the lead to 24-7. In total, Northwestern had the ball for over 13 minutes in the third quarter and limited the Hastings offense to just five plays. Northwestern capped off the scoring with under five minutes to play in the contest when Hector found Seth Moen on a crossing route for a 35-yard touchdown.
Northwestern amassed 380 total yards of offense compared to 277 for Hastings. The Red Raiders held a decisive advantage in the time-of-possession battle, 34:45-25:15. Craig Hector led the NWC offense with 298 total yards and two touchdown passes. He completed 13-24 passes for 245 yards and rushed for 53 yards. Kyle Ochsner totaled a season-high 58 yards and scored a touchdown to lead the ground attack. Five different receivers caught at least two passes, led by Seth Moen with four catches for 63 yards and a score. Defensively, Grant Hegstad recorded eight tackles and combined with Cody Van Sloten for a sack. Nathan Jansen totaled six tackles and broke up one pass.
Northwestern will host Briar Cliff at 1:30 pm on Saturday, Oct. 6, for their homecoming game.
2008 media guide
