Game Time...Fifth-ranked Northwestern goes on the road for one final time of the 2019 regular season as they play Briar Cliff this weekend in Sioux City, Iowa. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium will be at 1pm. Northwestern is unbeaten on the year with a 7-0 record, 6-0 in conference play; Briar Cliff is currently tied with Dordt for third place in the GPAC with a 4-2 record, 5-3 overall. 

    Follow the game live, via the Briar Cliff webcast, at this link: Watch Now!

    Listen to the game live, via the Sioux County Radio broadcast, here: Listen Now!

    Live Stats available here: Live Stats!

All-Time...Northwestern holds a 16-0 advantage in the series dating back to its first game against the Chargers during the 2003 season. Last year, the Red Raiders earned a 31-14 home win over BCU in the final game of the regular season.

    Last Five vs BCU:
    2018: Northwestern def. BCU, 31-14
    2017: Northwestern def. BCU, 63-26
    2016: Northwestern def. BCU, 42-6
    2015: Northwestern def. BCU, 21-0
    2014: Northwestern def. BCU, 38-0

Last Year...Sophomore quarterback Tyson Kooima threw for 336 yards and matched his career high with four touchdown passes and Shane Solberg was on the receiving end of all four scoring passes, totaling 11 catches for 145 yards and four touchdowns, in the Red Raiders 31-14 win over Briar Cliff in the final game of the regular season. The win secured Coach McCarty's squad of its second straight NAIA Football Championship Series appearance and its first home playoff game since 2006.

The Raider D showcased its dominance as well, holding down the Briar Cliff offense to 231 yards and forcing a pair of turnovers, both on interceptions by Bryce Van Beek. 

On a cold and blustery day, the Red Raider offense was both efficient and effective, totaling 425 yards and scoring on five of their first seven drives. Kooima completed 24-of-29 passes and led an offense that averaged over seven yards per play. 

Brady Moser caught six passes for 69 yards, both career highs, and Jacob Kalogonis rushed 17 times for 75 yards. Cade Moser totaled four catches for 72 yards. Defensively, Tanner Machacek came through with a game-high nine tackles and both Ben Granstra and Nate Bennett accounted for eight stops each. All three players also recorded a quarterback sack. 

Noah Ylagan rushed 29 times for 119 yards and two scores to lead the Chargers offense. Brad Cagle completed 10-of-24 passes for 106 yards and two interceptions, losing his first game under center in five games played. 

Scouting Reports...

    Briar Cliff Chargers: 4-2 (T3rd in GPAC), 5-3 overall        Head Coach: Dennis Wagner (3rd year)

Since a three-game win streak earlier this sesaon (weeks 2-4), Briar Cliff has split its last four games, defeating Midland (13-7) and Hastings (32-0) and losing to Concordia (16-14) and top-ranked Morningside (49-14). The Chargers are tied with Dordt for third in the current GPAC standings with a 4-2 record, 5-3 overall. They lead Doane by a 1/2 game and own the tiebreak against the Tigers by way of its 20-10 win in week four. 

Head Coach Dennis Wagner, in his third season with the Chargers, returns 12 starters (5 offense, 7 defense) from a 2018 team that finished sixth in the GPAC with a 4-5 record, 6-5 overall. 

Team Stats (GPAC / NAIA Rank-if top 10)
Offense:                                            Defense:                                Special Teams:
20.4ppg (5th)                                13.6ppg (3rd / 10th)                   Punting-35.3yds/ (7th)
270ypg (8th)                                 249ypg (2nd / 5th)                     Kick Return-20.2/ (3rd)
108ypg rush (8th)                            101ypg rush (3rd)                   Punt Return-9.9 (6th)
162ypg pass (7th)                           148ypg pass (1st / 6th)           Field Goals: 4/8
+8 TO (24 forced / 16 given)        24 sacks (2nd)                           PAT: 17/22
24% 3rd down (10th)                   24%-3rd down (1st / 5th)
8 sacks (2nd)

Individual Leaders: (GPAC / NAIA Rank-if top 10)
Passing: Jonathan Santos - 85/146, 936yds (7th), 5 TD, 5 INT
               Preston Mulligan - 35/76, 366yds, 3 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Greg Henry - 109/396 (9th), 2 100-yard games, 5 TD
               Jordan Williams - 53/337, 2 TD
Receiving: Khamren Davenport - 27 catches (T10), 311yds, 2 TD
                  Rashad Brown - 24/191, 3 TD
                  Kobe Johnson - 17/215, TD
O-Line: Kory Woodruff, Amari Beal (both earned 2nd team all-conference last year)
Kicking: Nick Manthana - 3/5 FG, 16/21 PAT
Punting: Jonahtan Santos - 34.8/attempt (7th)
Tackles: Robert Robinson - 67 (3rd)
              Peyton Bailey (All-Conference)- 57 (5th)
              Robby Huddleston - 50
              Alexander Johnson Jr. - 49
Sacks: Robert Robinson - 9 (1st / 6th)
INT: Markel Roby 3 (T2)

    No.5 Northwestern College Red Raiders: 6-0 (T1st in GPAC), 7-0 overall    Head Coach: Matt McCarty (4th year)

The Red Raiders defeated Doane last week 23-3 in their first home game since late September against Jamestown. A pair of freshmen came up big for the Red Raider offense as Garrett Packer rushed for a career-high 144 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Storey caught five passes for a career-best 113 yards. The Raider D was as dominant as ever, matching the program record with nine quarterback sacks (set in 2000 against Dakota Wesleyan). Both Tanner Machacek and Colin Snyder totaled 2.5 sacks each, Ben Granstra and Carter Van Gorp accounted for 1.5 each and Garrett Raymon registered one. Sean Powell tallied one interception to go with five tackles as Northwestern limited Doane to 256 total yards.

With the win, Northwestern improved to 6-0 in the GPAC and stayed tied with Moriningside for first place in the conference standings. They are 7-0 overall, earning a 47-7 win against Valley City State in their lone non-conference match-up this season.

Tyson Kooima ranks second all-time at Northwestern in passing yards with 7,636, just 38 yard away from breaking the record held by Lee McKinstrey, who threw for 7,673 yards during the 1980-83 seasons. Kooima is sixth all-time in passing touchdowns with 59, three shy of Kirk Maasdam (1987-90) and four away from Craig Hector (2004-07). Shane Solberg broke the record for receiving yards in a career in the Red Raiders win over Concordia two weeks ago and became the all-time receptions leader last week against Doane. The junior has 163 catches for 2,646 yards and has caught at least two passes in 23 straight games.

Offense (GPAC / NAIA rank-if top 10)     Defense                              Special Teams
PPG – 35.4 (3rd)                                      PPG – 9.7 (1st / 3rd)               9/10 FG
YPG – 449 (2nd/8th)                                 YPG – 295 (3rd)                     29/31 PAT
     Rush-173 (4^th)                                       Rush-143 (5th)                      KR – 23.3yds/return (1st/10th)
     Pass-275 (2^nd)                                     Pass-152 (2nd/9th)                 PR – 14.5yds/return (4th)
+3 TO margin (13/10)                               20 QB sacks (4th)                   Punt – 34/attempt (9th)
11 sacks given up (3rd)                            36% 3^rd down (6th)
37/83, 45% 3^rd down (2nd/9th)

Statistical Leaders: (GPAC rank)
Jacob Kalogonis – 112/690yds (2nd), 8 TD, 4 100-yard games in 2019
Tyson Kooima – 124/204, 1,864yds (2^nd / 9th), 14 TD, 5 INT; 2 300-yd games in 2019
Shane Solberg – 44 catches (1st/10th), 730yds (3rd/7th), 5 TD; 3 100-yard games in 2019
Cade Moser – 24 catches, 504yds (8th), 3 TD; 2 100-yard games in 2019
Braxton Williams – 9/10 FG, long of 48 yards; 29/31 PAT
Marcus Rens – 21 punts, 33.9yds/attempt (8^th)
Tanner Machacek – 69 tackles (2nd), 8 QB sacks (3rd/9th)
Sean Powell – 54 tackles (8th), 1.5 sacks
Brett Moser – 42 tackles, 2 INT (T3rd)