𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀 𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙆 ‼️

𝙉𝘼𝙄𝘼 𝙁𝘾𝙎 - 𝙎𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙉𝘿 𝙍𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘿
𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬.
𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬.

Who's ready for a little Thanksgiving weekend football at De Valois?!

🎨: @EllieKarloevitz#RaidersStandOut | #ChooseExcellence | @NAIA pic.twitter.com/8vlreP1k44

— Northwestern College Football (@nwc_fb) November 21, 2023

• Northwestern and Dordt set to meet in the NAIA FCS for the first-time ever on Saturday in Orange City.
• The Red Raiders win streak is up to 24-straight games.
• Northwestern is one of THREE unbeaten NAIA schools heading into the Second Round of the FCS.
• NWC leads the GPAC in total touchdowns (60), which sits SIXTH in the NAIA.
• Northwestern sits 20-7 in the month of November under head coach Matt McCarty.
• The Red Raiders took a weekly honor from the league office in nine of the 11 weeks this season.
• NWC is 21-0 with Jalyn Gramstad as the starting quarterback.
• NWC leads the GPAC in total yards per game (461.2), passing yards per completion (9.7), and sits second rushing yards per carry (5.7) being the most explosive offense in the GPAC.
• The Raiders scored 60 touchdowns this season: 32 rushing, 27 passing, and one defensive (pick-six).
• Northwestern was ranked No. 1 all season long, holding the unanimous top spot the entire regular season.
• Konner McQuillan continues to lead the conference in rushing touchdowns (17) and is second in the conference in rushing yards per game (92.3).
• Michael Storey now sits solely atop the GPAC in receiving touchdowns (13).
• He tied the program record for career receptions last week against Jamestown.  
• There's a three-way tie for the team lead in sacks (5.0) in Jessen Reinking, Adam Gubbels, and Trystin Voss.
• Since 2020 when the deep playoff runs began for Northwestern, NWC is one of eight NAIA programs to make the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) (see p. 5 of notes for full list of teams).

🏆 𝙂𝙋𝘼𝘾 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙈𝙋𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙎 🏆

For the first time since the 1996 season, the Red Raiders are @GPACSports Champions outright!#RaidersStandOut | @nwc_fb | @NAIA | @NAIAFBALL pic.twitter.com/kmjZ5gTcuZ

— NWC Red Raiders (@nwcraiders) November 4, 2023

• For the first time since the 1996 season, back when the conference was the NIAC, the Northwestern College football team are the outright conference champions!
• It marks the first outright GPAC title in program history – tied for the title in 2000 and 2014.
• It's the first GPAC title for head coach Matt McCarty, to go along with his 2022 NAIA National Championship.
• The Red Raiders will be presented their championship trophy and banner following the game on Saturday.

𝙊𝙁𝙁𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙄𝙑𝙀 𝙋𝙇𝘼𝙔𝙀𝙍 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙆 ‼️🏈

Erupting for 181 yards on 11 catches, 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙮 picks up his first-career Player of the Week honor!

📰: https://t.co/yIylsYqnQN#RaidersStandOut | @nwc_fb | @GPACSports pic.twitter.com/H4PnRfBRU6

— NWC Red Raiders (@nwcraiders) November 13, 2023

• Ending his final regular season on a high-note, Michael Storey collected his first-career GPAC Offensive Player of the Week accolade in Week 11.
• He notched a new career-high 181 yards on 11 receptions for two scores.
• He tied the program record for career receptions in the 40-11 win over Jamestown.
• He has now recorded 14 100-yard receiving games in his Red Raider career.

• Northwestern has gotten off to fast starts this season, outscoring opponents 82-20 in the first quarter this season.
• Only Concordia (Neb.), Midland, and Morningside, and Jamestown have scored on the Red Raider defense in the first quarter.
• NWC has held six opponents (Drake, Doane, Mount Marty, Hastings, Briar Cliff, Dordt, Dakota Wesleyan) scoreless in the first 15 minutes of play.

• With the win against Dakota Wesleyan, quarterback Jalyn Gramstad…
  • Moves up to eighth all-time in career passing yards (5,443).
  • He's just the 10^th Red Raider quarterback to notch 5,000 career passing yards.
  • Now sits in a tie for eighth all-time in passing TDs (52).
  • Remains tied for 10^th all-time in career rushing TDs (30).
• Konner McQuillan has moved into fifth all-time in program history in career rushing yards (3,296).
  • He also sits tied for fourth in program history for career rushing scores (46).
• Michael Storey passed C. Moser for second all-time in career receiving yards (4,361).
  • He now just needs ONE reception to become the program's all-time leader in career receptions.
  • Entering the FCS, he's on the hunt to pass Solberg for the program's all-time receiving yards mark, needing 415 yards to break the record.
  • He remains on the hunt for chasing down Moser and S. Solberg for career TD receptions (47 & 49, respectively), sitting with 42.
• He's just the third Red Raider to have 40 or more receiving touchdowns in their career.

🏈
The road to @DurhamNCSports continues this weekend with #NAIAFootball Championship Series Second Round action! Follow all things FCS --> https://t.co/QUUYaJSrGJ

It's a @GPACSports showdown in Orange City, Iowa with @nwcraiders and @dordtdefenders!#BattleForTheRedBanner pic.twitter.com/naDr7GnnLL

— NAIA (@NAIA) November 21, 2023

• Converted cornerback turned safety, Cody Moser has made the transition this season look effortless this season.
• His nine interceptions continues to lead the NAIA.
• His two interceptions against Hastings was his first-career multi-interception game.
• He recorded his second multi-interception game (2) against Dakota Wesleyan last week (Nov. 4).
• He had a streak of four-straight games with a pick this season.
• In his Red Raider career, he's recorded 11 interceptions.
• He now needs just five picks to crack the top-10 all-time list in Red Raider football history.

🐶 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃 🐶@DrakeBulldogsFB has clinched a spot in the NCAA FCS Football Playoffs.#FCS pic.twitter.com/cD43V3HAlD

— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 18, 2023

• Northwestern downed NCAA FCS Drake back on September 9, 27-24, in overtime.
• After starting the season with three-straight losses, the Bulldogs ran the table in the Pioneer Football League (PFL) with an 8-0 record to receiver the league's automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs.

• Saturday calls for an overcast day with cloud cover, but only a minimal chance of precipitation (4%) (as of Wednesday morning).
• Highs are expected to barely reach the 30s (high of 31 called for).
• Winds will be 5-to-10mph from the SE.

• Northwestern leads the all-time series 16-0 over Dordt.
• The Red Raiders are 7-0 with games played in Orange City, including the 35-14 win earlier this season.  
• NWC looks to make it 17-straight wins against the Defenders.
• McCarty is 8-0 against the Defenders in his career.