A memorable 2020-21 season came to an end for the Northwestern College football team as they lost to No.3 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 45-13 in the NAIA Football Championship Series title game tonight at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium in Grambling, La. 

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Northwestern finishes its season with an 11-2 record; playing in its first championship game since 1984 and sixth overall, the Raiders are now 2-4 in the title contest.

Blake Fryar completed 22-of-32 pass attempts for 157 yards and two touchdowns, one each to Shane Solberg and Konner McQuillan. Fryar was the team's top rusher as well, gaining 38 yards and 18 carries. 

Northwestern was forced to punt on its opening possession and Lindsey Wilson responded with a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive finished off with a Cameron Dukes one-yard run for a 7-0 lead. 

Still 7-0 early in the second quarter, Lindsey Wilson place kicker Ian Sauter converted a 33-yard field goal to put his team in front 10-0. The Blue Raiders added another touchdown five minutes later when Noel Patterson raced in from 41-yards out off a reverse. Northwestern answered with its best drive of the first half as Fryar marched his team down the field, going 75-yards on 17 plays, finished off with a short touchdown pass to McQuillan on fourth down with seconds to go in the opening half.

Monday's championship game was decided in the third quarter when Lindsey Wilson scored off its first two possessions to put the Blue Raiders in front 31-7. Dukes finished off his team's first drive with a two-yard run and Kobe Belcher completed a three-play, 47-yard drive with a one-yard plunge for the second score. Lindsey Wilson's defense came up with a key stop on fourth down, giving its offense great field position on the second drive. 

Both teams were forced to punt on their next possessions; taking over at its own 1-yard line following a Blue Raiders punt, Northwestern went on its best drive, an 11-play, 99-yard drive finished off with an 11-yard scoring pass from Fryar to Solberg. The Raiders failed to convert on the two-point conversion, making the score 31-13. 

Lindsey Wilson ended any hopes of a Northwestern rally with a 14-play, 45-yard drive that consumed nearly eight minutes of clock as Dukes scored his third rushing touchdown, a three-yard run, putting his team in front 38-13. Cameron Evans later scored the Blue Raiders sixth rushing touchdown on a six-yard run with 4:09 left in the fourth quarter. 

Northwestern totaled 16 first downs and 231 yards (74 / 157), limited to 3.6 yards per play by the stingy Lindsey Wilson defense. Cade Moser caught six passes for 54 yards and Solberg nabbed five catches for 28 yards and a touchdown. 

Parker Fryar led the Raider D with 11 tackles and one quarterback sack. Devin Mouw and Carter Van Gorp accounted for eight and seven tackles, respectively, in their final game in a Northwestern uniform. 

Lindsey Wilson gained 347 total yards, 190 rush and 157 through the air, led by Dukes who passed for 157 yards and rushed for three scores, earning player of the game honors. Darius Clark led th Blue Raiders with 70 yards rushing on four carries and Jaylen Boyd totaled 16 carries for a modest 33 yards. Michael Leslie, named the the game's most valuable player on defense, totaled nine stops and shared a quarterback sack.