Game Time... The 13th-ranked Red Raiders go for their fifth straight win as they host Doane this Saturday in a GPAC football match-up. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. Northwestern is 5-1 overall while the Tigers come in with a 1-4 GPAC record, 1-5 overall. Watch/listen to the game via the Northwestern College web-cast at the following link: Watch/Listen | Now!
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The Coaches... Matt Franzen is in his third season as head coach of the Tigers and also serves as the team’s offensive coordinator. In his first season in 2007, he guided Doane to a 4-6 record after the Tigers finished the 2006 team with just one win. Franzen is 9-18 coming into this week's game. Kyle Achterhoff is also in his first season as head coach of the Red Raider football program after spending the last 11 years as either the offensive (2001-2008) or defensive (1998-2000) coordinator. He is just the third NWC head coach since 1967, following Larry “Bub” Korver and Orv Otten.
The Series... Northwestern holds a slim 13-11-2 advantage in the season series, dating back to their first meeting in 1982. The Raiders won the last three match-ups but the teams split their last 10 meetings.
Last Year... Northwestern jumped out to a 33-0 third quarter lead in the 10th-ranked Raiders’ 43-9 win over Doane last year. Kyle Ochsner rushed for a game-high 63 yards and two scores in leading the offense while the Raider defense scored two touchdowns off a Nathan Jansen interception and a fumble recovery by Austin Rozeboom. Mike O'Brien added a 36-yard field goal and Jayme Rozeboom completed a six-yard touchdown pass to Kyle DeBoer in the fourth quarter. Caleb Blauwet and Grant Hegstad led the defense with seven tackles each.
Last Week... Doane lost its third straight game as they lost the "Battle of the Tigers," 42-32, to Dakota Wesleyan. Doane struck early in the second quarter on a nine-play drive that ended with Michael Vargas finishing hitting paydirt on a two-yard run. Dakota Wesleyan came back with two touchdowns in a span of three minutes to take a 14-7 lead before Doane closed the gap going into halftime as Andrew Nielsen hit a 30-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining.
In the third quarter, Doane took the opening drive down for a touchdown on a two-yard run by Vargusand a 17-14 lead. Dakota Wesleyan, however, ran off 21 unanswered points to take a 35-17 lead. Late in the fourth quarter, Anthony Dunn found Tyrone Curry for an 11-yard touchdown pass and Doane cut the lead to 10 points following a Vargas run for the two-point conversion. With Doane trailing by 10 points, the defense held and Doane took possession and drove 77 yards to cut the lead to three when Dunn found Eamonn Feeney for a touchdown. Dakota Wesleyan sealed the game with a late touchdown after Doane was unable to get the on-side kick.
The two teams combined for 803 yards on the cold, 30-degree day. For Doane, Vargas posted 80 yards rushing. Dunn threw for 241 yards on 20 completions. His top target was Feeney, who posted 104 yards on seven receptions. Defensively, Dalton Ryba tallied 10 total tackles and a tackle for loss. Rob Keeney added nine total tackles.
Northwestern won its fourth straight game and handed Midland Lutheran its first conference loss, 17-14, in Fremont, Neb. Trailing 14-7 early in the fourth quarter, Raider 
defensive end Paden Kleinhesselink intercepted a Midland Lutheran pass and returned it two yards to the Warrior 44-yard line. Northwestern then drove down to the Midland five-yard line on a 39-yard run by Taylor Malm, setting up a 24-yard field goal by Ben Rasefske to cut the lead to 14-10. The Raider D forced another big turnover on the Warriors’ next possession as Caleb Van Otterloo recovered a fumble and returned it 31 yards, all the way to the Midland Lutheran 17-yard line. On the very next play, Malm scampered 17 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and a 17-14 lead. Northwestern's defense forced Midland into a three-and-out on their next series and the Raider offense ran out the final six minutes, converting two crucial third downs.
Northwestern totaled 322 yards of total offense and registered 17 first downs compared to just 11 for Midland Lutheran. The Raiders rushed for 285 yards, their second highest output of the season, led by Malm with 166 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown. Kevin Vander Schaaf returned to action and rushed for 83 yards on 14 carries. Brad Payne completed 6 of 17 pass attempts for 37 yards and one score. Derrick Rensink caught two passes for 22 yards, including his first touchdown of the season. The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage all game long and did not give up a sack.
Defensively,Caleb Blauwet totaled a team-high 5.5 tackles, two for a loss of six yards. Caleb Van Otterloo registered five tackles and recovered a fumble while David Butler had 4.5 tackles.
Doane News and Notes... The Tigers rank eighth in the league in scoring (16.2 ppg) and sport the sixth- best passing attack, averaging 165 yards through the air. Sophomore Anthony Dunn returns under center after playing in 10 games as a freshman. He ranks fifth in the GPAC averaging 161 yards passing, completing 58% of his pass attempts and seven touchdowns. Four of five starters return up front on the o-line, led by first team all-GPAC left tackle Jake Ryba. Doane also returns their top three rushers from 2008 in Jaremy Puthoff, Michael Vargas and Tim Reed. Puthoff averages 4.6 yards per carry and ranks sixth in the GPAC averaging 64 yards per game. Vargas, a 200-pound senior, has a team-best four touchdowns and has 191 yards rushing while Reed has 147 yards this season and averages nearly six yards per carry. Blake Erickson (22 catches/251 yards) and Eamonn Feeney (19 catches/200 yards) are the top pass catchers for Coach Franzen's offense.
Defensively, the Tigers are giving up 391 yards of offense and rank ninth in the league in scoring defense (33 ppg). Linebackers Dalton Ryba and Ryan Gruntorad lead the way with 41.5 and 33 tackles. Gruntorad earned honorable mention all-GPAC honors last year. Another linebacker, Clayton Kolling, has 25 tackles, including 6.5 for a loss, ranking sixth in the conference. Junior Selau Sunia anchors the d-line with 26 tackles after earning honorable mention all-GPAC honors in 2008.
Doane lost its first two games of the season (Avila and Hastings) and followed with its only win of the season, a 26-14 victory over Concordia. They lost their last three games to Midland Lutheran, U. of Sioux Falls and Dakota Wesleyan.
Raider News and Notes... Northwestern moved up one more spot to 13th in the most recent NAIA ratings after their 17-14 win over Midland Lutheran. Nathan Kuik earned GPAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after nailing three punts inside Midland's 20-yard line.
The Raiders’ offense ranks sixth in the GPAC, averaging 26 points and 331 yards per game. They boast the third-best rushing attack in the GPAC with three players averaging more than 50 yards per game. Taylor Malm ranks third in the league with 88.5 yards per game and reached the end zone a team-high 10 times (9 rush, 1 return). Brandon Smith has 302 yards rushing and three scores while Kevin Vander Schaaf has 218 yards and one touchdown. In three games, Brad Payne completed 53% of his passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns. Malm and Derrick Rensink are the top targets with 20 and 13 catches, respectively. The offensive line has given up just four sacks all season.
Defensively, Northwestern ranks third in the league giving up 15 points per game. Austin Rozeboom leads the team with 31.5 tackles and earned GPAC Defensive Player of the Week honors earlier this season. Steven Van Wyhe has 24 tackles while Grant Hegstad has 23.5 tackles, including five for a loss.
Up Next... Northwestern travels to Sioux City, Iowa, to play Briar Cliff next week.
2009 Media Guide
