ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The No. 4-ranked Northwestern College football team (11-1, 9-1 GPAC) will face the second-ranked Mustangs of Morningside University (12-0, 10-0 GPAC) for the third time in the past six months, and for the second straight season in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Football Championship Series (FCS) Semifinal Round contest.
 
Two perennial Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) football teams will battle it out for the right to go to Durham, N.C. for the National Championship game. Neither team are strangers in this type of environment, as both teams have two national titles in program history. Northwestern winning titles in 1973 and 1983, and Morningside winning back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.
 
"Excited for the challenge to line-up and compete with Morningside again. Third matchup in the past six months with a lot on the line," said head coach Matt McCarty. "We are excited to play close to home and we know we will have great support in Sioux City on Saturday."
 
Northwestern is no stranger to the NAIA Football Championship Series as this marks the program's 23^rd appearance. The Raiders have the most FCS appearances of any of the 16 teams that made the field this season, one ahead of Dickinson State (N.D.). They are one of three teams in the field to have two national championships in program history, along with Morningside and Marian (Ind.).
 
"Playing football in December is special. It means you are the best of the best. Only four teams get the opportunity to play in December," notes McCarty. "We are excited for the chance to compete for a spot in the National Championship game."
 
Northwestern Red Raiders
The Red Raiders earned an at-large bid to this year's NAIA Football Championship Series, after boasting a 10-1 record and being ranked inside the top-5 all season long. A prolific pass offense – ranked top-10 in the NAIA - guided the Raiders back to NAIA FCS appearances, led by Blake Fryar (Jr., Waukee, Iowa/Van Meter) the first eight games of the season, compiling a perfect 8-0 mark. Senior Tyson Kooima (Hull, Iowa/Western Christian), after leading the team to the NAIA FCS National Championship game a season ago, returned from injury to start against Dordt on October 30.
 
Fryar – an Honorable Mention All-GPAC quarterback – completed 64.85% of his passes (155-for-239) throwing for 2,172 yards and 25 touchdowns, while only throwing five interception in those 239 attempts. Kooima – a Second Team All-Conference performer – threw 17 touchdown passes in just three starts, throwing for 1,219 yards with a 67.37% completion percentage (64-for-95) in the regular season.
 
The Raiders offense will still enter this weekend's clash with a top-5 scoring offense at No. 3 (46.8 points per game), and the seventh-best passing offense (305.5 passing yards per game). Kooima's return has aided the Raider offense in being hard to stop. Cade Moser (Sr., Rock Valley, Iowa/Rock Valley Community) has been one of Kooima's and Fryar's top targets all season long. Last week against Marian he brought in nine passes for 164 yards. With the performance against the Knights, Moser moves up to sixth in the NAIA, averaging 105.8 receiving yards per game, sitting with 1,375 receiving yards on the year. His school-record 20 touchdown grabs continue to sit second in the nation this season, just two touchdowns behind the national leader (Caleb Tanis from MidAmerica Nazarene). Michael Storey (Jr., Spencer, Iowa/Spencer) – last year's hero in the Semifinal clash – sits second on the team with 792 yards on the year, bringing in nine touchdown grabs.
 
Parker Fryar (So., Waukee, Iowa/Van Meter) now eclipses 90 tackles in the season behind his 10-tackle performance against Marian, sitting at 92 as his presence continues to be felt all over the field. He has four pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, two fumble recoveries, and one interception and forced fumble. Noah Van't Hof (Jr., Lester, Iowa/West Lyon) sits second on the team with 69 tackles. Tanner Oleson (Sr., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) has notched 2.5 sacks while recording a third-best 68 tackles – after a breakout performance leading the team with 13 tackles in the Quarterfinals. The Raiders sack leader this season is defensive lineman Jessen Reinking (Jr., Kingsley, Iowa/Kingsley-Pierson) with 6.5 sacks.
 
Eli Stader (So., Cedar Grove, Wis./Oostburg) is always a threat with his leg, as he sits second nationally in three kicking categories – made PATs (75), made field goals (12), and total points (110). He has converted field goals at a 63.2% clip on the season (12-for-19). He has had 98 kickoffs, sending 28 of them for touchbacks.
 
NAIA FCS First Round vs. (#16) Central Methodist (Mo.)
The Raiders downed No. 16-ranked Central Methodist in Orange City thanks to Player of the Game honors presented to (Offense) Konner McQuillan (Jr., Leavenworth, Kan./Lansing) and (Defense) Jaden Snyder (R-So., Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon). McQuillan rushed for 89 yards on 17 carries, while Snyder picked up two huge interceptions to propel Northwestern over the Eagles. Kooima tossed one touchdown pass to Blake Anderson (Jr., Oakland, Neb./West Point-Beemer) in the third quarter to effectively seal the game in Northwestern's favor.
 
The Raider defense has made a name for itself all season long, continuing its stout play in the First Round against CMU. Northwestern allowed only 300 total yards of offense for the Eagles. Snyder's two interceptions gave Northwestern the national lead with 22 interceptions on the year, as the defense now also again leads the nation with seven defensive touchdowns. Holding CMU to 7 points, under their season average of 15.6 entering the contest.
 
NAIA FCS Quarterfinals vs. (#7) Marian (Ind.)
Northwestern and Marian met for only the second time ever this past week, as both were looking to add more to their storied football history. Kooima led the Raiders offensively – having leading marks in passing and rushing – as he ultimately found a way to guide the Raiders on a 7-play, 68-yard drive to seal the Northwestern victory. Kooima threw for 227 yards (16-for-28) and a touchdown, while rushing for 58 yards.
 
Once again, the Northwestern defense was a menace and kept the Knights high-powered offense at bay to allow for the Raiders to drive one last time to clinch the game and a berth into the Semifinals for the second straight season. The defense kept their prowess alive, picking up two more interceptions to take back the national lead at 24 INTs on the season. Snyder sits tied for second in
 
Morningside Mustangs
Morningside enters the 2021 NAIA FCS as the automatic qualifiers and champions of the GPAC, going a perfect 10-0 in the regular season to clinch the conference title. The Mustangs are guided almost completely by their high-powered offense that puts up mind-boggling numbers each week.
 
The Mustangs are led by senior quarterback Joe Dolincheck who eclipsed the 4,000-yard passing mark on the season a week ago in their Quarterfinal victory, he sits with 4,085 yards on the season. He's been extremely efficient all season long with 40 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, with a long pass of 73 yards.
 
Anthony Sims leads the Mustang rushing attack with 1,474 yards on the ground on 195 carries, finding the endzone 29 times. Backup running back Ryan Cole has 115 carries on the season for 520 yards and 12 touchdowns.
 
Dolincheck's favorite target is senior Reid Jurgensmeier, who sits tied for first nationally with 85 receptions and fourth in receiving yards at 1,299. He has brought in 16 touchdown grabs to pace the Mustang wide outs.
 
NAIA FCS Opening Round vs. (#14) Ottawa University (Ariz.)
The First-Round opponent for the Mustangs was No. 14-ranked Ottawa University-Arizona, and the Mustangs had their way against the Spirit, winning decisively 63-38. Joe Dolincheck went 25-for-35 with 360 yards through the air on the afternoon. He tossed three touchdown passes, with his longest of the day his first to Reid Jurgensmeier to start the scoring. Anthony Sims had 24 carries for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Jurgensmeier was Dolincheck's top target, grabbing 10 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
 
NAIA FCS Quarterfinals vs. (#10) Kansas Wesleyan
The Mustangs took on the Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan, a team who ended up with a bye in the Quarterfinal rounds due to ineligibility issues with their first-round opponent. Any doubts fans had for Morningside facing a well-rested opponent was quickly vanquished as Morningside took a 21-0 lead after the opening quarter. The Mustangs won handedly, 58-21, to advance to their fourth-straight NAIA FCS appearance.
 
Dolincheck threw for 417 yards on 31-for-45 passing with five passing touchdowns. He was, once again, very efficient throwing no interceptions, and had a long pass of 38 yards. Rushing duties were split between Matt Strecker and Ryan Cole – as Anthony Sims did not compete for the Mustangs. Strecker had a touchdown on 14 carries for 67 yards. Cole had two rushing scores for 57 yards on 16 carries.
 
"Morningside is a great opponent with no weaknesses. There will be no surprises in this game having played twice in six months. They are extremely efficient on offense – we will need to execute at high level on defense and force them to beat us," comments McCarty. "Offensively, we will need to take care of the football and finish drives. Team that can play the most physical and execute the best will be the team that wins on Saturday."
 
2021 Regular Season Meeting
The two met back on Saturday, November 6 to decide the 2021 GPAC Championship – and the contest did not disappoint. The two squads combined for 1,100+ yards of total offense, with both sides eclipsing 550+ yards of offense. The Mustangs prevailed in the shoot out at Korver Field at De Valois Stadium in Orange City, 55-49.
 
Kooima threw for a career-high 498 yards on 28-for-52 passing with five touchdowns on the afternoon, including a long of 63 yards on a touchdown connection to Storey. Both Storey and Anderson broke the 100-yard receiving mark on the day with 148 and 146 yards, respectively – both marking career-highs. Anderson also set a new career high with nine receptions to lead the team on the day.
 
"Our players have worked with great focus all season and a great desire to get back to the top of the mountain and get a shot at a national championship," says McCarty. "All we can do is prepare to play our best and do all we can to play our best 60 minutes on Saturday. If we can do that, we will give us a great shot to get to Durham."
 
By-the-Numbers
Northwestern (National Rank) -                                                         Morningside (National Rank) –
Offensive                                                                                            Offensive
Scoring: 46.7 (3rd)                                                                             Scoring: 59.3ppg (1st)
Total Yards: 454.1ypg (12th)                                                             Total Yards: 629.1ypg (1st)
Passing: 305.5ypg (7th)                                                                     Passing: 392.7ypg (1st)
Rushing: 148.6ypg (40th)                                                                  Rushing: 236.4ypg (5th)
 
Defensive                                                                                           Defensive
Scoring: 15.3ppg (6th)                                                                      Scoring: 17.2ppg (12^th)
Total Yards: 262.3ypg (5th)                                                              Total Yards: 309.1 (24^th)
Passing: 170.5ypg (13^th)                                                                   Passing: 240.8 (81st)
Rushing: 91.8ypg (10th)                                                                    Rushing: 68.3ypg (6^th)
 
Individual NAIA Stat Leaders (Top-5)

• Joe Dolincheck (MORN) – Passing yards (4085 – 1^st)
• Joe Dolincheck (MORN) – Passing touchdowns (40 – 1^st)
• Joe Dolincheck (MORN) – Pass yards/game (340.4 – 1^st)
• Joe Dolincheck (MORN) – Completion Percentage (68.4% - 1^st)
• Anthony Sims (MORN) – Rushing yards (1474 – 3^rd)
• Anthony Sims (MORN) – Rushing yards/game (134.0 – T-3rd)
• Anthony Sims (MORN) – Rushing touchdowns (29 – 1^st)
• Cade Moser (NWC) – Receiving yards (1,375 – 2^nd)
• Reid Jurgensmeier (MORN) – Receiving yards (1,299 – 4^th)
• Reid Jurgensmeier (MORN) – Receptions (85 – T-1^st)
• Cade Moser (NWC) – Receiving touchdowns (20 – 2^nd)
• Reid Jurgensmeier (MORN) – Receiving touchdowns (16 – T-3^rd)
• Reid Jurgensmeier (MORN) – Receiving yards/game (108.3 – 4^th)
• Jaden Snyder (NWC) – Interceptions (7 – T-2^nd)
• Tyler Wingert (MORN) – Total tackles (126 – T-4^th)
• Eli Stader (NWC) – Kicking points (110 – 2^nd)
• Chase Carter (MORN) – PATs made (95 – 1^st)
• Eli Stader (NWC) – PATs made (74 – 2^nd)
• Eli Stader (NWC) – FGs made (12 – T-3^rd)

 
Ticket Information 
Tickets can be purchased at the gate in Sioux City, Iowa. No mask mandate is required by the national office due to the sport being an outdoors. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. (noon) from Elwood Olsen Stadium on the campus of Morningside University.
 
Entrance into the stadium is designated on the west side of the stadium – nearest the scoreboard. The first 100 students to the west side entrance will receive free tickets courtesy of Dr. Parker and Northwestern Athletics and the Raider Athletics Association (RAA). A valid NWC student ID must be presented to receive a ticket.

For the second-straight season, Elwood Olsen Stadium on the campus of Morningside University will be the site of the Semifinal matchup between the fourth-ranked Raiders and the second-ranked Mustangs. The winner will advance to the National Championship game of the NAIA FCS and will face the winner of No. 1 Lindsey Wilson and No. 3 Grand View on December 18 in Durham, North Carolina.