Concordia at Northwestern

• PREVIEW
• BOXSCORE
• PHOTOS
• VIDEOS

Game Time...15th-ranked Northwestern plays host to Concordia this Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1:30 p.m. for the annual Homecoming game. The Red Raiders are 3-1 this season while the Bulldogs come in with a 1-3 record. Listen to the game via the Northwestern webcast at the following link: Listen/Watch Now!

Coaches… First-year head coach Vance Winter took over this season in place of long-time coach Courtney Meyer at Concordia. Winter served as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator the past two seasons. 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... This will be the 32nd meeting in this rivalry that began in 1960, with Northwestern holding a 19-12 all-time advantage over the Bulldogs. The Red Raiders won the last six meetings with Concordia last winning in 2002, 43-37.

Last Year... The Raiders, ranked 11th in the NAIA, improved to 4-1 as they knocked off Concordia 49-2 last year in Seward, Neb.  Jumping out to a 35-0 lead, Northwestern amassed 228 yards rushing and scored five rushing touchdowns. Taylor Malm carried the ball 15 times for a game-high 76 yards and two scores while Cary Overholt, Matt Roesner and Kyle Ochsner also punched one in. Overholt completed 10 of 22 passes for 120 yards while Roesner went 3 for 5 for 22 yards and one score. Defensively, the Raiders forced four Bulldog turnovers and registered two sacks. Caleb Blauwet and Grant Hegstad led the way with five and 4.5 tackles, respectively. Kyle Schmidt led Concordia with 91 yards of total offense, completing 10 of 18 pass attempts for 80 yards.

Concordia News and Notes... Head Coach Vance Winter inherited a squad that finished the 2008 season with a 1-9 overall record. 47 letter winners and 18 starters return for Coach Winter and his staff, who also brought in over 40 newcomers. This year, the Bulldogs are 1-3 with losses to Midland Lutheran (10-12), Doane (14-26) and USF and a win over Briar Cliff (21-10) in week three. Last week, the top-ranked Cougars gained over 700 yards of total of offense as Concordia lost 80-0. The Bulldogs’ offense struggled to move the ball, gaining 58 total yards while committing five turnovers. Akeem Christian led Concordia with three receptions while Noah Smith and Jamarcus Walker averaged over 20 yards per kick return.

The Bulldogs’ offense ranks 11th in the conference in yards (210) and 10th in points per game (11.2). Quarterback Kyle Schmidt returns for his final season under center. The senior ranks eighth in the GPAC, averaging 124 yards per game through the air. Schmidt has completed 54% of his pass attempts for 497 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 31 yards and two scores. Schmidt returns two of his top targets from 2008 in honorable mention all-GPAC receivers Derrick Woods and Jamarcus Walker. Woods leads the team with 14 catches and one score and doubles as the Bulldogs' punt returner, averaging over 20 yards per attempt. Walker has a pair of catches for 26 yards and is also a dangerous kick returner, ranking third in the GPAC with a 24.4 return average. Senior wideout Daniel Uden leads the team with 140 reception yards on just 12 catches. Sophomores Darius Smith and Akeem Christian lead the Bulldogs rushing attack with 111 and 56 yards, respectively. They run behind an o-line anchored by center Dustin Ehlers, who earned all-conference honors in 2008.

Defensively, Concordia is giving up over 400 yards of offense and 33 points per game. The team returns an experienced secondary, led by senior Alex Neiderklein and junior Ben Harris. Harris has 24.5 tackles and three passes defended while Neiderklein has 22 tackles and one interception. Ben Klein, a sophomore defensive back, ranks fifth in the GPAC with a team-best 30 tackles.

Raider News and Notes... Northwestern moved up three spots to 15th in this week's NAIA ranking after a 35-27 win over Dana in Blair, Neb. last week. Taylor Malm scored three touchdowns and Brandon Smith added another as the Raiders erupted for 184 rushing yards. Malm scored on a pair of first-half runs, one from five yards and the second from one-yard out just before the half to give NWC a 14-13 lead. Malm opened the second half with a nifty 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown followed by a long touchdown pass from Brad Payne to Reed Van Hulzen as the Raiders opened up a 28-13 lead. Dana battled back, however, to within one before Smith scored on a game-clinching two-yard run to give the Raiders the win.

Both teams totaled over 300 yards of offense, 304 for NWC and 351 for Dana. Malm led the rushing attack with 77 yards and two touchdowns. Brad Payne and Brandon Smith gained 56 and 55 yards, respectively. In his first collegiate start under center, Payne completed 11 of 19 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. Both Reed Van Hulzen and Derrick Rensink caught four passes, with Van Hulzen totaling a team-high 66 yards.

Defensively, Caleb Van Otterloo posted 6.5 tackles and broke up two passes. Linebackers Austin Rozeboom and Grant Hegstad totaled six and 5.5 tackles, respectively.

Northwestern ranks fourth in the GPAC in yards (341) and fifth in points per game (25.2). The Raiders boast the fourth-best rushing attack, averaging nearly 200 yards per game. Four Raiders have rushed for over 100 yards, led by Malm with 269 yards and six scores. Smith has 170 yards while Ryan Morgan (141) and Kevin Vander Schaaf (135) also give Coach Achterhoff backfield options. Under center, Morgan has completed 52% of his pass attempts for 450 yards and two touchdowns in three games this season. Reed Van Hulzen (19/243) and Malm (13/65) are the top pass catchers.

The Raider D ranks third in the GPAC, giving up 17.5 points per game. Linebackers Grant Hegstad and Austin Rozeboom total 22.5 and 20 tackles respectively, while Jordan TeGrootenhuis and Ben Aguilera boast a team-best two sacks each.

Up Next... Northwestern returns to the road next weekend as they play Midland Lutheran in Fremont, Neb.