Football Season Review, Northwestern College Red Raiders

Raiders Continue Strong Tradition in 2009

A season of transition…The 2009 season marked just the third time since 1967 that the Raider football team underwent a head coaching change as longtime assistant and former player Kyle Achterhoff took over the sideline in place of Orv Otten. Achterhoff, an assistant under Otten for 11 years, was not the only new face pacing the sideline as the Raiders brought in a new offensive coordinator, Joel Penner, and hired another assistant coach and special teams coordinator, Perry Krosschell. Despite the changes, the expectations were high heading into the 2009 season as the Raiders were ranked 23^rd in the NAIA preseason rankings. With 15 starters and a total of 23 letterwinners returning from a 2008 team that just missed postseason play with a 7-3 record, Coach Achterhoff’s squad was looking to build upon the already strong tradition established by his predacessors in Coach Otten and NAIA Hall-of-Famer, Larry “Bub” Korver.

The Raiders perhaps faced their biggest challenge of the season just five days prior to their opener against Dordt College as sophomore quarterback Jayme Rozeboom, the football starter throughout the entire offseason, went down with a season-ending injury. Coach Achterhoff’s squad, however, responded with an impressive 35-3 win over their county rival in which the Raiders ground attack rushed for over 300 yards and four touchdowns while their vaunted defense lived up to its billing, giving up just over 100 yards and six first downs. Ryan Morgan, the new starting quarterback, was efficient in his Raider debut and more importantly, gained valuable experience heading into a week two showdown with fifth-ranked Morningside.

After a full week of practice, Northwestern headed south to Sioux City to play the fifth-ranked Mustangs under the lights in a key early season match-up between the two conference powerhouses. The Raiders fell behind early (10-0) but were within a field goal at halfime after Morgan connected with senior wideout Reed Van Hulzen for a 37-yard touchdown pass. The second half featured a defensive struggle as neither team was able to get their offense in gear. Morningside took advantage of a few big plays to seal the win and gave NWC its first loss, 20-7.

Despite the tough road loss, Coach Actherhoff’s squad continued to climb in the weekly NAIA ratings. They moved up to 21^st in the next rating and then climed all the way to 12^th after five straight wins to improve to 6-1 on the year heading into their week eight match-up at Briar Cliff.

Relying on one of the top rushing attacks in the NAIA, the Red Raiders showcased their potential in a thrilling 33-28, last-second victory over the Chargers in Sioux City. The teams were tied at 14 at the half and Briar Cliff went ahead with the lone score in the third quarter, 21-14. Northwestern came back to tie it early in the fourth quarter only to have BCU march down the field for a quick score and retake the lead, 28-21. With under three minutes left to play, the Raiders scored another touchdown on a long run by Taylor Malm, only to miss the extra point. Trailing by one, the Raider D forced a three-and-out, giving the ball back to the offense with just over one minute remaining. Morgan then completed a pair of short passes and with time winding down, connected with Jameson Rexilius for the go-ahead 32-yard touchdown as time expired.

Coming off such a dramatic win, Northwestern then faced top-ranked University of Sioux Falls the next week at Korver Field. In front of a capacity crowd, the Red Raiders fell behind early but scored a second quarter touchdown to cut the Cougars lead to one score. USF, however, controlled the game the rest of the way and handed NWC its first loss since week two. The loss also dropped the Raiders to 18^th in the NAIA poll with one game left in the regular season. Needing an impressive win on the road against Dakota Wesleyan, the Raiders came up short, falling to the Tigers 13-10 and ending their hopes of reaching postseason play.

Coach Achterhoff’s squad finished fourth in the conference standings with a 7-3 record, the 19^th straight year that Northwestern closed the year with a winning record. In addition, Hegstad the Raiders finished in the top 25 for the seventh straight year, ending the year 25^th in the final NAIA poll. Northwestern, behind an offensive line that allowed just seven sacks all year, boasted one of the best rushing offenses in the NAIA, averaging over 210 yards per game. 12 players earned all-conference honors, including senior linebacker Grant Hegstad (Sanborn, Iowa) and Caleb Van Otterloo (LeMars, Iowa) who earned first team accolades. Four players were named NAIA Scholar Athlete, including George Barnes (Mesa, Ariz.) and Hegstad, who earned the academic honor for the second year. Caleb Blauwet (Larchwood, Iowa) and David Butler (Stillwater, Minn.) also earned the honor.