No.10 Northwestern College earned its first postseason win in 11 years with a dominating 55-7 road win over No.7 and previously unbeaten Langston (Okla.) in a NAIA Football Championship Series-First Round match-up played this afternoon at W.E. Anderson Stadium.
Northwestern improves to 10-1 on the year and advances to the FCS-Quarterfinals for the first time since 2006, which, is also the last time they recorded 10-or-more wins in a season. Langston, the Central States Football League Champions, end the season at 10-1.
The Red Raiders led from start to finish and dominated Langston in all three phases. Offensively, Northwestern put up 460 yards of offense against the third-rated Lions' defense, a unit that was giving up a mere 260 yards per game. The Red Raiders o-line did not give up a sack for the third straight game and opened huge holes for a rushing attack that gained 255 yards, by far the most the Lions had given up this season. The Raider D was just as impressive, forcing five Langston turnovers, two returned for touchdowns, while giving up 297 yards of offense, over 50 yards below the Lions' average on the season.
Jacob Kalogonis led the Red Raiders with 25 rushes for 140 yards and a touchdown, registering his ninth 100-yard game of the season. The talented sophomore also caught three passes for 73 yards and a score, giving him a combined 16 touchdowns this season. Tyson Kooima accounted for over 200 yards of offense and four touchdowns, completing 16-of-22 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing seven times for 18 yards and a pair of scores. With his two passing touchdowns, Kooima is now tied with Craig Hector (2007) for eighth place with 22 passing scores in a single season.
The Raider D set the tone immediately, forcing Langston to punt on its opening possession after three plays, and Northwestern's offense capitalized, going 46 yards on five plays, ending with a three-yard scoring run by Kooima. Following another Langston punt, Northwestern made it 14-0 when Kalogonis scored on a 14-yard run, capping an 11-play, 73-yard drive with 3:30 left in the opening quarter.
Langston marched all the way down to the Northwestern 9-yard line on its next drive but sophomore linebacker Tanner Machacek came up with a quarterback sack on a 4th-and-one to stop the Lions. Using a fine balance of both run and pass plays, the Red Raider offense marched 81 yards on seven plays and scored a touchdown on their third straight possession as Kooima hooked up with Kalogonis for a 42-yard scoring play to take a 21-0 lead and conclude the first half scoring.
Northwestern made it 24-0 after its opening drive of the second half when Braxton Williams nailed a 31-yard field goal through the uprights. The Raider D forced Langston into back-to-back turnovers, followed by a punt, getting a fumble recovery by Joey Novotny and an interception by Logan Richard. After the Langston punt, Northwestern's offense scored on a three-play, 50-yard drive that ended with a Kooima 2-yard run and a 31-0 advantage. Capitalizing on another Lions' turnover following a fumble recovery by Machacek, Kooima found Sean Kleinwolterink for an eight-yard touchdown pass to put the Red Raiders up 38-0 early in the fourth quarter.
On Langston's next drive, the Raider D forced its fourth turnover of the second half and put its first points on the board as Justin Faber picked up a fumble and scampered 20 yards for a touchdown (45-0). The Lions scored for the only time on a 14-yard run by Tim Whitfield on their next possession but Northwestern answered with a 21-yard field goal by Rafael Sanchez-Perry for a 48-7 lead at the four-minute mark. The Raider D came up with the final big play as Brandon Black picked off a Lions' pass and returned it 83 yards for a touchdown to give the Red Raiders their highest point total in a playoff game.
Machacek and Jacob Jenness both registered 6.5 tackles to lead the Raider D. Machacek and Jed Van't Hof both tallied a quarterback sack and all three defenders recovered a fumble. Northwestern allowed just 79 passing yards for the game.
Brady Van't Hul rushed seven times for a career-high 85 yards and Jared Nelson led all receivers with five catches, totaling 20 yards.
Langston was led by Jaylen Lowe with 120 yards of offense, 47 yards on the ground and 73 yards passing.
