Game Time...The wait is over...11th-ranked Northwestern opens its 2019 season against Valley City State this weekend. Kickoff on Korver Field, DeValois Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1pm. 

    Follow the game live, via the Northwestern webcast, at the following link: Live Stats | Watch

All-Time...Northwestern is 7-0 all-time against the Vikings, earning a 28-10 road win in a match-up played last season in Valley City, N.D. Other game scores are below:
            2018: 28-10 @ VCS
            1998: 41-0 @ NW
            1996: 14-7 @ NW
            1985: 29-14 @ VCS
            1979: 23-8 @ NW
            1974: 38-15 @ NW

The Coaches...Matt McCarty begins his fourth season as the Red Raiders head coach and 15th year as a coach within the program. McCarty owns a 22-11 record and has guided NW to a pair of NAIA FCS appearances. 

    Dennis McCulloch is in his 23rd season as the head coach at Valley City State. The long-time coach has a 131-92 record and has guided the Vikings to four playoff appearances, most recently in 2014. 

Last Year...Jacob Kalogonis rushed for over 100 yards and Tyson Kooima scored three touchdowns in the Red Raiders 28-10 road win over Valley City State in 2018. Kalogonis totaled 27 carries for 124 yards and a score while Kooima completed 15-of-28 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a seven-yard run as Northwestern opened up a 10-0 halftime lead. 

The Raider D limited the VCS offense to 241 total yards, just 72 on the ground. Sean Powell was in on 10.5 tackles and registered 1.5 quarterback sacks. 

Louie Quinones led the Vikings with 99 total yards and a touchdown.

Scouting Reports...

    Valley City State Vikings: 1-0        Head Coach: Dennis McCulloch (23rd year)

The Vikings won the Ag Bowl and took home the Paint Bucket trophy with a 20-14 win over in-state rival Jamestown last weekend in Valley City. VCSU led 13-0 at halftime but needed a late fumble recovery by Aaron Martin to stall a potential game-tying scoring drive by the Jimmies. 

Louis Quinones rushed for an NAIA-leading 249 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown, earning North Star Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors. Jalen Pfeifer completed 9/14 passes for 62 yards and one touchdown, a 10-yard strike in the first quarter after his team recovered a blocked punt. Martin was the star defensively with 18 stops and Jahidi West added 11 tackles. 

Valley City returns 15 starters (9 offense / 5 defense / 1 special teams) from a 2018 team that finished 5-2 in the NSAA regular season, 6-4 overall. Last year's team scored 31 points per game, behind the play of Quinones, who rushed for over 1,000 yards and earned all-conference honors. Pfeifer was efficient in leading the VCS passing game, completing 58% of his passes for 16 touchdowns and two interceptions. Jake Peterson returns as the top receiver, earning all-conference honors after scoring 12 touchdowns and totaling 815 yards. John L. Jones, an all-conference pick, returns and anchors the o-line.

Defensively, five starters are back from a unit that ranked fourth in the NAIA in rush defense (103 ypg). Martin was the top tackler in 2018 and received all-league honors. Andrew Hanretty nabbed five interceptions and returns in the secondary. Four new starters are up front on the d-line, led by Dakota Johnson, who saw time in rotation. 

#11 Northwestern College Red Raiders: 0-0        Head Coach: Matt McCarty (4th year)

    2018 Record: 9-2 (8-1 in GPAC), ranked 12th in final poll
    -picked 2nd in GPAC preseason coaches' and media poll
    -19 starters (9 off. / 6 def. / 4 special teams), 42 letterwinners return

    Players Returning / 2018 stats
    Tyson Kooima (2x all-GPAC) 194/317, 2,896yds, 23 TD, 14 INT
        -rushed 115x for 661yds, 9 TD
    Jacob Kalogonis (2x all-GPAC) 236 rush, 1,275yds, 17 TD
                29 catches, 329yds, 2 TD
    Shane Solberg (All-American, All-GPAC) 84 catches, 1,374yds (school record), 13 TD
    Paxton DeHaan (All-GPAC, 3-yr starter on o-line)
    Sean Powell (2x all-GPAC) 83 tackles, 1.5 sacks
    Garrett Sayler 64 tackles
    Tanner Machacek (3x all-GPAC) 56 tackles, 2.5 sacks
    Braxton Williams 42/49 extra points, 7/12 FG