Northwestern at Dordt

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Game Time... The long-awaited 2008 season debut for the Red Raider football team will take place Saturday night in Sioux Center, Iowa against Dordt College. Kickoff for the season opener will be at 6:00 pm. The game can be heard via the NWC webcast at the following link:  Listen!

Scouting Report... The Defenders and Head Coach John Heavner will be playing their first ever varsity football game Saturday night against GPAC rival Northwestern. Last season, Dordt fielded a club team in which they played a junior varsity schedule and finished with a 3-5 overall record, winning three of their final four contests.

Last season, Adam Shirley handled most of the quarterback duties and completed 53 passes for 573 yards. This season, however, the Defenders will turn to a pair of freshmen to handle the quarterback position. Scotty Walden, a 5-10, 175-pound quarterback from Texas, will get the nod over 6-2, 190-pound Justin Knot from Michigan. Walden threw for 2,400 yards and 16 touchdowns during his career at Cleburne (Texas) and also rushed for 450 yards and nine touchdowns while earning first-team all-county honors last year. Ben Robbins will handle the tailback duties after gaining 473 yards on the ground in just five games last season. The 5-10, 190-pound sophomore also caught eight passes for 89 yards. Joey Vander Schaaf was the big-play threat last season for Coach Heavner's squad as he caught seven passes for 150 yards. The 6-0, 180-pound sophomore is capable of playing a number of different positions for the Defenders. Perhaps the most experienced position for Dordt is the offensive line, which returns four of five starters from last year. Sophomores Alex De Jager, Brendan Lyle, Todd Green and Tony Engeltjes join newcomer Jason Buxcel up front for the Defenders. Sophomore tight end Brandon Huisman also returns up front for DC.

Several play-makers return for the Defender defense, including Chris Minnema and Jake Dykstra in the secondary. A 6-1, 165-pound cornerback from California, Minnema totaled 33 tackles and three interceptions last season. Dykstra, who prepped at Unity Christian High School, also recorded three interceptions to go with 27 tackles. Fred Leyendekker, who also serves as the Defender punter, returns at the linebacker position after leading the team with five interceptions, including three for touchdowns, to go with 21 solo tackles. Jake Esselink and Dan Jansen return on d-line for the Defenders.

Red Raider Notes... Northwestern comes into the 2008 season ranked 13th in the NAIA preseason poll and picked third in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Coach Otten's squad returns eight starters on both offense and defense from a 2007 squad that finished 8-2 and ranked 14th in the final NAIA poll. The tradition-rich Red Raiders have made the playoffs 15 times, posting a 20-13 record with two national championships. Coach Otten, in his 14th season with NWC, is 98-42 during his tenure.

Offensively, the Red Raiders averaged 366.2 yards per game and 28 ppg under the direction of Offensive Coordinator Kyle Achterhoff. Up front, NWC returns four players that started or saw significant time during the 2007 season. A fifth player, Dan Solis, returns after taking a year off last season. Solis started as a true freshman in 2006. Under center, Matt Roesner will take the reigns after the graduation of three-year starter, Craig Hector. A 6-0, 214-pound senior, served as back-up the last two seasons and also played on the junior varsity. Roesner has several experienced receivers to throw to this season, led by senior Seth Moen, who led the Red Raiders with 657 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Reed Van Hulzen (22 catches, 315 yds), D.J. Hansen (16 catches, 292yds) and tight end Tyler Meekma (17 catches, 299yds) also return to fill out a talented receiving corps. In the Red Raider backfield, Taylor Malm and Kyle Ochsner, the top two rushers from last season, return for another season. Malm, a sophomore from California, totaled 313 yards in seven games last season. Ochsner, a senior from Saronville, Neb., ran for 312 yards and tied for the team lead with four rushing touchdowns. Senior fullback Tim Naiman and Jordan Langer also return after combining for over 200 yards last season.

Defensively, the Red Raiders allowed 19ppg and 317 ypg in 2007. Defensive coordinator Matt McCarty returns eight starters from last season, including senior Cody Van Sloten who earned All-American honors as a junior. He recorded 47.5 total tackles and was one of the NAIA leaders in sacks with 10. NWC returns an outstanding linebacker corps, led by senior Nate Jansen. Jansen ranked fourth on the team with 48.5 tackles and had five sacks, which earned him honorable mention All-American honors. Grant Hegstad, T.J. Lensch, Caleb Blauwet and Austin Rozeboom also return and join Jansen at the linebacker position. Lensch ranked second on the team in both tackles (51) and interceptions (4). The junior also scored a pair of defensive touchdowns in 2007. Hegstad was fifth on the team with 48 tackles and Blauwet recorded 29.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks. The secondary is anchored by junior Grant Mosier, who led the team with five interceptions and also broke up four passes. Sophomore Caleb Van Otterloo recorded 17 tackles, broke up four passes and had two interceptions.

The Great Plains Athletic Conference…The GPAC went 2-1 last weekend in non-conference. Scores from those games are as follows:
Grand View defeats Briar Cliff 20-17
Hastings defeats Peru State 26-0
Doane defeats William Jewell 15-12
Saturday’s Schedule:
Briar Cliff @ Doane
Doane @ Hastings
Sioux Falls @ Nebraska Wesleyan
Dakota Wesleyan @ Morningside
Midland Lutheran @ Concordia
Northwestern @ Dordt

Up Next... Northwestern will take on Morningside in their home opener next weekend, Sept. 13, at 7:00 pm.