The 14th-ranked Red Raiders outlasted Nebraska Wesleyan 17-15 in Great Plains Athletic Conference football action Saturday night. Northwestern improves to 2-1 on the season, while the host Prairie Wolves fall to 0-3. With the win, Head Coach Orv Otten earned his 100th victory for his 14-year career with the Red Raiders.
The host Wolves scored first with 9:27 left in the first quarter on a 37-yard field goal by Zach Egger. Northwestern seized the lead right back on the ensuing kickoff when Taylor Malm ran the kickoff back 96 yards for a touchdown and 7-3 lead. Malm's kickoff return set a new school record for the longest return, breaking the old mark set in 1999 by Koury Kramer (75 yards) against South Dakota Tech. Nebraska Wesleyan grabbed the lead right back on their next drive as Jordan Stutzman picked up a Prairie Wolves fumble and scampered 11 yards for a touchdown. Northwestern blocked the point-after attempt to trail 9-7. The Red Raiders took the lead again early in the second quarter on a Mike O'Brien 37-yard field goal, 10-9. Both teams failed to score again as Northwestern took their one point lead into the locker room.
Leading 10-9, Northwestern scored on their first possession of the second half off a one-yard run by Cary Overholt. The play capped off an impressive 19-play, 70 yard drive that lasted over six minutes and gave NWC a 17-9 lead. Both defenses took over after the Northwestern touchdown, holding the offenses scoreless for the rest of the quarter and most of the fourth. With just 44 seconds left in the game, Nebraska Wesleyan scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hagge to Brandon Taute to cut the lead to 17-15. With Wesleyan going for two, the Red Raider defense came up big and stopped the potential game-tying pass play to seal the win. The Red Raiders recovered the on-side kick attempt as well to end the game.
Northwestern gained 170 total yards of offense, compared to 168 for the Prairie Wolves. Overholt completed 10-25 passes for 96 yards and one interception. Seth Moen was the top target with six catches for 75 yards. Kevin Vander Schaff led the ground attack with 43 yards on just seven carries. Overholt totaled 12 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, T.J. Lensch and Austin Rozeboom recorded 9.5 and 9.0 tackles, respectively. Nate Jansen totaled four tackles and 1.5 sacks. The Red Raider defense registered four sacks and forced one fumble.
The Red Raiders will play host to Dana College on Saturday, September 27 at 1:30 pm for their homecoming game.
2008 media guide
