Tyson Kooima threw for a season-high 296 yards and the Raider defense shut down the potent Dakota Wesleyan offense in Northwestern's 41-13 road win over the Tigers in a match-up played under the lights of Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell, S.D.

Head Coach Matt McCarty's squad stays unbeaten, improving to 3-0 in the GPAC, 4-0 overall. Dakota Wesleyan drops to 0-2 in the conference, 1-3 overall.

Northwestern raced out to a 28-3 halftime lead, reaching the endzone on four of its first five possessions, and pushed the lead to 38-3 just before the end of the third quarter. The Raider D was just as dominant, limiting the eighth-best offense in the NAIA to just over 100 yards through three quarters, 262 for the game and well below their season average of 533 yards per game. Northwestern forced DWU to punt on six of eight possessions in the second and third quarters and stopped the Tigers on fourth down twice during that span.

Kooima completed 19-of-29 passes for a season-high 296 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 28 yards and a score. Jacob Kalogonis surpassed 100-yards rushing for the second straight and third overall game of the season, totaling 133 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns. The leading rusher in the GPAC (total yards) averaged 5.5 yards per carry and has 15 100-yard games for his career. Shane Solberg caught seven passes for a career-best 150 yards and two touchdowns and Canon Flores totaled six catches for 68 yards.

Northwestern set the tone early, opening the game with a seven-minute, 14-play, 74-yard drive, finished off with a Kalogonis four-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. The host Tigers took advantage of a Red Raider turnover, scoring its first points with a 32-yard field goal by Tate Gale, to make the score 7-3 with 4:28 left in the first quarter. The Red Raiders came back with another long scoring drive, going 84 yards on eight plays, capped by an eight-yard run by Kooima just before the end of the quarter to put McCarty's team up 14-3. 

With the Raider D forcing a DWU punt, Northwestern marched down the field with a six-play, 65 yard drive, ending with a 10-yard run by Kalogonis for a a 21-3 lead. Northwestern scored again on its next drive on an eight-yard pass from Kooima to Solberg to go up 28-3 at the half. 

Northwestern put the game away 10 more points on its first couple drives in the third quarter. Kooima and Solberg hooked up for their second touchdown, a 15-yard strike with 11:52 left in the quarter. Braxton Williams drilled a career-best 44-yard field goal with six minutes left in the third to put his team ahead 38-3. DWU added a field goal near the end of the quarter while Williams finished off the Red Raider scoring with a 36-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. 

Dakota Wesleyan added a late touchdown as Spencer Neugebauer scored on a two-yard plung with 1:23 left in the game.

Northwestern totaled 513 yards on offense and featured great balance once again with 215 rushing and 298 through the air. 

Ben Granstra led the Raider D with a career-best seven tackles and two quarterback sacks. Bryce Van Beek tallied five tackles and Tanner Machacek added 4.5 stops and one interception. 

Tigers quarterback Shaye Slaughter completed 10/32 passes for 161 yards and rushed six times for 22 yards. 

Northwestern will host Doane on Sept. 29 for its Homecoming game. Kickoff scheduled for 1:30pm.