Doane @ Northwestern 1 p.m. Saturday, September 15, Orange City, IA

Past games

Sep172011	@ Doane Loss 8 - 20
Oct232010	@ Doane Won 31 - 23
Oct172009	@ Northwestern Won 49 - 23
Oct182008	@ Doane Won 43 - 9

About DOA

Located in Crete, NE, Doane College is a member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

Game Time...Northwestern College looks to rebound from its week two loss as the Red Raiders play host to 16th-ranked Doane this Saturday, Sept. 15. Kickoff on Korver Field at DeValois Stadium is at 1:00pm. Northwestern, ranked 17th in the NAIA, is 0-1 in the GPAC, 1-1 overall while Doane is undefeated in 2012 with a 1-0 GPAC mark, 2-0 overall. Watch/listen live to the game via the NWC webcast at the following link: Watch/Listen Now! or follow the Live Stats at the following link: Live Stats! or listen to the game via the KSOU broadcast: Listen Now! In a game dominated by defense, Doane totaled 262 yards of total offense compared to 96 for NWC. Dose led all players with 207 yards of total offense, including 167 rushing yards on a GPAC-record 50 carries. He also caught five passes for 40 yards.

Brandon Smith led the Red Raiders with 60 yards of total offense, rushing for 26 yards on 13 carries. Theo Bartman added 28 yards on six attempts. Three players off the Raider D accumulated 10 or more tackles, led by Aaron Jansen with 11.5.

Doane News and Notes...The 16th-ranked Tigers opened the season with a 41-28 home win over Briar Cliff and then earned a 35-14 win over Dakota State last week in Crete, Neb. Last week, the Tigers led 28-0 before DSU put any points on the board and gained 484 yards of total offense. Quarterback Jeff Weander threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns, including a record-setting 93-yard strike to Tyrone Curry.

Coach Matt Franzen is in his seventh season as the head coach at Doane and returns 13 starters and 36 letter winners off a 2011 team that finished 8-2 overall and ranked 19th in the final poll. They began the year ranked 21st in the preseason poll, the first time since 2003 that Doane appeared in the preseason poll.

Doane is 10th in the NAIA in scoring offense (38ppg) and averages 448.5 yards per game, led by junior quarterback Jeff Weander who took over for last year's GPAC offensive player of the year, Anthony Dunn, who graduated last spring. Weander has completed 57% of his passes for 518 yards, six touchdowns and just two interceptions. Doane returns two of its top three wide receivers from last season in seniors Jesse Ver Velde and Tyrone Curry. Both players earned honorable mention all-GPAC honors in 2011 and have combined for 13 catches for 304 yards and four scores this year. Sophomore Nolan Kawata has a team-high 10 catches, taking one to the endzone. Junior running back Alex Dose returns as the workhorse in the Tigers' backfield after earning second team all-GPAC honors. Dose has 26 carries for 128 yards and one touchdown. Coach Franzen returns two starters up front, including Dillon Carmichael, who garnered first team all-GPAC honors.

The Tigers' defense is giving up 21 points and over 317 yards per game. Seven starters return from 2011, led by linebackers Jeremy Wallace and Joe Knott who have 15 and 13 tackles, respectively. Both players earned honorable mention all-GPAC honors last year. Doane leads the NAIA with nine sacks, led by Knott with two. Seven other players have one sack each.

Northwestern News and Notes...The Red Raiders dropped seven spots and are tied with St. Francis (Ill.) for 17th in the latest NAIA coaches' poll. Northwestern ranks fifth within the GPAC in both scoring offense (28ppg) and scoring defense (17ppg) but ranks seventh in the NAIA, first in the conference in offensive yards per game (456). Coach Achterhoff's squad has the top passing attack in the conference, gaining nearly 300 yards per game through the air.

Junior quarterback Davis Bloemendaal has completed 55% of his pass attempts for 266 yards, second highest in the GPAC, throwing four touchdowns and just one interception. Senior Brandon Smith averages 76.5 rushing yards per game, fourth best in the conference, and grinding 6.7 yards per carry. He has 14 100-yard games during his career and is a dual-threat, ranking second on the team with seven catches for 125 yards. Theo Bartman averages 4.6 yards per carry and leads NWC with eight catches for 140 yards out of the backfield. Eli Groenendyk is the top wide receiver with seven catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Northwestern is second against the pass, giving up 113 yards per game. Senior linebacker Nate Fischer leads the team with 17 tackles, 13 of which came last week against Morningside. Isaiah Twitty has 15 tackles and leads the team with two sacks. Jake Zylstra (13), Aaron Jansen (12.5) and Jordan Carlson (11.5) are the other leaders for the Raider D.

Up Next...Northwestern will host Dakota State on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 1:00pm.