Northwestern at Briar Cliff

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Game Time... 12th-ranked Northwestern puts its five-game win streak on the line this Saturday as they play Briar Cliff in Sioux City, Iowa. Kickoff at Memorial Field is at 1:00 pm. The Raiders are 6-1 overall while Briar Cliff is 2-5 overall, 2-4 in the GPAC.

The Series... Northwestern holds a 6-0 all-time advantage in the series that began in 2003.

Last Year... The Red Raiders defeated Briar Cliff 35-0 last year at DeValois Stadium. Offensively, Northwestern totaled 18 first downs and 381 total yards, led by Kyle Ochsner with 78 yards rushing on 17 carries and one touchdown. Cary Overholt rushed for 51 yards and one score while Kevin Vander Schaaf gained 37 yards on 10 carries. Overholt completed 13-of-26 passes for 126 yards in just over two quarters of action. Roesner finished 3-of-6 for 52 yards and led NWC on a pair of touchdown drives in the second half. Kyle DeBoer and Seth Moen each caught five passes for 88 and 54 yards, respectively.

Defensively, the Raider D allowed just eight first downs,109 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns. Cody Van Sloten ran back an interception and Grant Mosier returned a fumble for the defensive scores. In addition, the defense forced five turnovers and sacked quarterback Ryan Hajek seven times. Jon Gerber led the way with eight tackles, one forced fumble and two pass break-ups. Grant Hegstad recorded 7.5 tackles and two sacks for a loss of 13 yards.

Last Week... BCU used a 20-point second quarter and a stingy defense to defeat Dakota Wesleyan, 33-7, last week in Mitchell, S.D. The victory for the Chargers snapped a 14-game road losing streak, dating back to 2006.  Making his second career start under center, freshman quarterback Lehi Tonga completed 19-of-24 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns. Chase Colvin also had a big day for the Chargers with five receptions for 105 yards and three scores. Stavhn Leavy led the ground attack with 76 yards and one score. Defensively, BCU limited Dakota Wesleyan to just 27 yards rushing and intercepted the Tigers three times. The Chargers' special teams also scored off a Bryce Harshman 32-yard punt return. Jarrod Mackovicka led the way with 10 tackles and two passes defended.

Northwestern rushed for a season-high 329 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns in its 49-23 win over Doane last week. Brandon Smith led the way with 133 yards and one score, averaging nearly 17 yards per attempt. Taylor Malm surpassed the 100-yard milestone for the third time this season as the junior gained 124 yards and scored three times. He has 13 total touchdowns this season. Kevin Vander Schaaf added 74 yards and two scores  while quarterback Ryan Morgan returned to action and completed 7-of-17 passes for 69 yards and one score. Kyle DeBoer caught three passes for 26 yards while Derrick Rensink caught two passes for 12 yards and a touchdown.

The Raider defense forced four Doane turnovers and registered three sacks. Caleb Van Otterloo led the way with 6.5 tackles and two interceptions. Jon Gerber, Jordan TeGrootenhuis and Joel Dykstra totaled five tackles. Dykstra added a sack and an interception.

BCU News and Notes...The Chargers and second-year coach Tom Rethman are 2-4 in the GPAC, 2-5 overall. They opened the season with three straight losses (Grand View, Hastings and Concordia) followed by a 23-0 home win over Dana. BCU then lost to Midland Lutheran (21-14) and USF (41-6) before last week's impressive win over Dakota Wesleyan. They already matched the 2008 win total and with two more victories, they will match their most wins since 2006 (4).

Offensively, the Chargers average 18 points per game and rely heavily on a passing attack that averages over 200 yards per game, fifth-best in the GPAC. Lehi Tonga ranks fourth in the GPAC with a 131 pass efficiency rating and has completed 60% of his passes (47/78) for 607 yards and five touchdowns in two games as a starter. He also came off the bench in two games in relief of Ryan Hajek. Two Chargers receivers, Chase Colvin and Andrew Prohaska, rank in the GPAC top 10 in both receptions (27,33) and yards (496, 232). Colvin leads the team with six touchdowns while Luke Roder has the other receiving touchdown to go with 250 yards. Stavhn Leavy leads the ground attack with 359 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per carry, and four scores. The offensive line ranks 12th in the league, giving up 18 sacks this season. Prohaska leads the special teams averaging 11.2 yards per punt return and 29 yards on kickoff returns.

Defensively, BCU is giving up 21.1 points per game and ranks third in rush defense (98.3 yards per game). Senior linebacker, Jared Mackovicka, leads the GPAC with 62 tackles, five for a loss, after earning honorable mention all-GPAC honors in 2008. Two other Chargers, Taylor Schumacher and Eric Bolin, rank in the GPAC's top 10 in tackles with 45.5 and 42 respectively. Brady Summers ranks third in the league with three sacks while Schumacher leads the team with three interceptions.

Raider News and Notes...Offensively, Northwestern ranks third in scoring (29ppg) and boasts the second best rushing attack in the GPAC, netting 230 yards per game. Three players average over 50 yards per game on the ground, led by Taylor Malm who ranks third in the GPAC averaging 94 yards per game. Malm has 655 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns via the ground. Brandon Smith ranks sixth in the league averaging 62 yards per game and averages a team-best 7.4 yards per carry. Kevin Vander Schaaf scored three rushing touchdowns and has 292 yards in five games this season. Quarterback Ryan Morgan averages 130 yards through the air and completes 50% of his pass attempts (52/104) for 519 yards and three scores. Malm (20/94 and tight end Derrick Rensink (15/130) are the top receivers while Kyle DeBoer has 10 catches for 91 yards. The Raiders O-line is one of the best in the GPAC with just four sacks against this season. Kicker Ben Rasefske is perfect (27/27) in point after attempts.

The Raider D ranks third in the conference in both points (16) and yards (270) per game. Junior linebacker Austin Rozeboom leads the team with 34.5 total tackles, five for a loss of 23 yards. Steven Van Wyhe (28.5), Jon Gerber (28) and Caleb Van Otterloo (27) are also among the top players. Van Otterloo ranks third in the GPAC with four interceptions while Paden Kleinhesselink ranks seventh in the GPAC with 2.5 sacks. Northwestern has 12 sacks this season.

Up Next... Northwestern will host top-ranked USF next week, Oct. 31, at DeValois Stadium.