No.8 Northwestern College had its season come to an abrupt end with a 25-20 home loss to ninth-ranked St.Xavier (Ill.) in a NAIA Football Championship Series First Round match-up played today at DeValois Stadium, Korver Field. 

The Red Raiders finish the 2019 season with a 9-2 record; St.Xavier improves to 9-2 and will play No.1 Morningside in the quarterfinals next week. 

Tied at 13, St.Xavier went ahead for good on a 26-yard field goal by Kyle Hassert with six minutes left in the third quarter, who also helped set up the winning score with an onside kick. The visiting Cougars added to their lead when quarterback Alex Martinez connected with his No.1 target of the day, Nick Czeszewski, for a 29-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the fourth quarter. The extra point try was no good, however, giving St.Xavier a 22-13 lead. 

The Red Raiders came back with a much needed touchdown on the very next drive as Tyson Kooima found Cade Moser for a 12-yard touchdown that finished off a four-play, 48-yard drive and made it a one score game, 22-20, with 12:56 remaining. 

Northwestern's defense forced the Cougars into a three-and-out, and, following a short punt, gave the ball back the offense at their own 40-yard line. Consecutive runs by Kooima and Jacob Kalogonis, followed by a Cougars penalty, gave the Red Raiders a 1st-and-five from the St.Xavier 36-yard line. Faced with a third-and-four, however, Kooima fumbled the snap and was recovered by St.Xavier to end the potential go-ahead drive. 

St.Xavier capitalized on the Red Raiders turnover, as the Cougars went on a 10-play, 47-yard drive that used up nearly four minutes and ended with a 26-yard field goal by Hassert with 4:40 left to play. 

Northwestern turned the ball over on its final two possessions thereafter, ending any sort of rally.

Head Coach Matt McCarty's squad totaled 19 first downs and a season-low 268 yards on offense (68 rush, 20 pass). Kooima completed 20/39 passes and two touchdowns while adding 29 yards on 11 rush attempts. Shane Solberg totaled eight catches for 121 yards, his seventh 100-yard game of the season, and a touchdown. Cade Moser caught six passes for 53 yards and a score while Jacob Kalogonis accounted for 43 yards of offense (37 rush, 6 receiving). 

The Raider D was led by the senior duo of Tanner Machacek and Sean Powell who filled up the stat sheet one last time with 12 tackles each. Powell and T.J. Jones shared a quarterback sack and Liam Stubbe, Noah Van't Hof, Ben Granstra and Devin Mouw all totaled eight stops. 

Northwestern scored the only points of the first quarter after a 44-yard field goal by Braxton Williams put the hosts up 3-0 at the 2:56 mark. Both teams were stopped on fourth down plays in the opening quarter, ending potential scoring drives. Northwestern, in particular, failed to convert a fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line on their opening drive.

St.Xavier put its first points on the board when Martinez scored on a two-yard keeper on the fourth play of the second quarter to give his team a 7-3 lead. Northwestern responded with another field goal by Williams, this time from 23-yards out, cutting the deficit down to one (7-6) with nine minutes left in the first half. The Cougars concluded the first half scoring with a Mike Iturbe 28-yard field goal, putting the visitors in front 10-7 at the break.

Northwestern began the second half with its best drive, covering 64-yards on six plays, and finished off with a Kooima to Solberg 43-yard touchdown pass and a 13-10 lead. Hassert tied the game at 13 with a 23-yard field goal on the Cougars ensuing possession and also gave his team the football back with a successful onside kick, setting up the go-ahead score.

St.Xavier totaled 27 first downs, 443 yards of offense and held nearly a 10-minute of time of possession advantage. Martinez completed 37-of-58 passes for 345 yards and a touchdown. Both Czeszewski (122 yards) and Chris Simmons (73 yards) totaled nine catches each. Both Steven Meyer and Josh Hettiger led the Cougars defense with nine stops. Ron Carroll and Peyton Nigro recorded an interception.