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Northwestern College
HOME OF NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS ATHLETICS
HONORING CHRIST THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
Nike
football-keiser-recap-2023
Zachary Lucy Photography
31
Winner Keiser KEISER 12-2
21
Northwestern NWC 14-1
Winner
Keiser KEISER
12-2
31
Final
21
Northwestern NWC
14-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
KEISER Keiser 7 10 7 7 31
NWC Northwestern 0 7 0 14 21

Game Recap: Football | | NWC Athletic Communications

Northwestern Falls to No. 3 Keiser in NAIA Championship Game

NWC reaches national championship game for third time in four years

DURHAM, N.C. – Facing the same opponent as last season in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championship game on a sunny, clear day in Durham, N.C., top-ranked Northwestern College football team (14-1, 10-0 GPAC) dropped a 31-21 decision to No. 3-ranked Keiser University (12-2, 7-0 SUN) Monday afternoon at Durham County Memorial Stadium.  
"I'm proud of how our guys battled. We never quit," said head coach Matt McCarty. "We battled back to give ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter."
 
It was a Keiser dominated first half at Durham County Memorial Stadium, with over 200 yards rushing in the first 30 minutes. After winning the coin toss, the Red Raiders deferred to the second half and the Seahawks wasted no time putting points on the board. Senior running back Jaden Meizinger takes the first play from scrimmage 75 yards for a score and taking the 7-0 early lead.
 
The initial offensive series for the Red Raiders stalled out after three plays as the Seahawks took over inside Red Raider territory. Keiser unable to do anything with prime real estate with the Northwestern defense standing firm, forcing a field goal attempt which was unsuccessful.  
After the opening play score, the Red Raider defense began to slow the Keiser offense down.
 
A pair of pass plays of 31 yards each from Jalyn Gramstad (Jr., Lester, Iowa) to Austyn Gerard (Fr., Gilbert, Ariz.) and Logan Dykstra (So., Lynden, Wash.) puts Northwestern inside the 10-yard line. A sack would force the Red Raiders to settle for a field goal attempt into the wind, but unable to put any points on the board. Keiser would hold the 7-0 lead after the first quarter of play.
 
In the first possession of the second quarter, the Seahawks drove deep into Red Raider territory but, yet again, were forced to settle for a field goal attempt. Keiser would convert on their second field goal attempt of the day, extending their lead to 10-0 with seven minutes to play in the second.
 
The ensuing possession would end abruptly as a strip sack would give the Seahawks the ball back inside the Red Raider 20-yard line. Four plays later and Keiser would punch it in to extend their lead to 17-0.
 
Northwestern pushed the ball into Keiser territory before the half, in part on a Keiser pass interference call on third down. The drive would stall out around midfield as the Red Raiders went for a fake punt, but Keiser was able to snuff it out. The Seahawks would attempt to put together a 2-minute drive, but Kylar Fritz (Fr., Sioux Center, Iowa) had a massive interception to get the ball back to the offense.
 
A third down conversion with 30 seconds left sets up Northwestern inside the 10-yard line for the second time of the afternoon after Gramstad found Michael Storey (Sr., Spencer, Iowa) for a 27-yard strike. This time the trip concluded with a touchdown when Gramstad found Gerard for the first Red Raider score of the day, cutting the deficit to 17-7 with 30 seconds in the half. Keiser would push the ball to the 20-yard line and they would miss their second field goal of the day to keep the score 17-7 at the break.
 
The Keiser defense came to play in the first 30 minutes, holding Northwestern to -13 rushing yards in the first half. Gramstad had 131 yards through the air, tossing for the lone Raider score. The Seahawks put up 204 rushing yards of their 277 total yards of offense in the half. Tristan Mulder (Jr., Rock Valley, Iowa) led the game with his six first half tackles.
 
Northwestern received the kickoff to open the second half of play but was unable to get anything going with the possession. Keiser continued to rely on the run game, pushing deep into NWC territory. Hampered, again, by a penalty that saw a deep ball destined for the endzone get picked off by Clayton Bosma (Jr., Sioux Center, Iowa).
 
Northwestern strikes for a 39-yard connection from Gramstad to Storey, but the drive stalls inside Keiser territory. Eli Stader (Jr., Cedar Grove, Wis.) with a phenomenal punt that is downed at the Keiser 1-yard line. Meizinger once again broke off a big run, taking the ball 53 yards and into Northwestern territory. The Seahawks would complete the 99-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-7. The score would hold heading into the final quarter of play.
 
The comeback attempt would be on in the final 15 minutes of play. The Red Raider defense would force the first Keiser punt of the day early in the fourth quarter, setting up the Red Raider offense at the 14-yard line. The offense would heat up, going 86 yards for a score with a 53-yard touchdown strike from Gramstad to McQuillan to cut the Keiser lead down to 10 (24-14).
 
The Red Raiders would then catch the Seahawks off guard and attempt an onside kick. Northwestern would recover it, recovered by Eli Stader (Jr., Cedar Grove, Wis.) himself at the NWC 48-yard line. After review, the call would be confirmed and the Red Raider offense was back in business. Taking advantage of the short field, Northwestern would find themselves knocking on the door inside the five-yard line. McQuillan would punch the ball in after a time out, as Northwestern had erased the 17-point lead and only trailed by a field goal at 24-21.
 
However, on the ensuing kickoff, Keiser's Nico Cavanillas would pick up the squib kick and take it 77 yards for the score to push the Seahawk lead back up to 10 with seven minutes to play, making it 31-21. Kole Telford (Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa) would take the next kickoff 48 yards to near midfield for the Red Raiders.
 
The Keiser defense would hold the Red Raiders down on what proved to be their final possession of the contest. The Seahawks would then run down the final five minutes off the clock to take the Red Banner and the 2023 national title, 31-21.
 
"Keiser deserves a lot of credit, they played better than us today," concluded McCarty
 
GAME NOTES:
  • Keiser held the offensive advantage today with 490 yards to 338 for Northwestern.
  • The Seahawks notched 373 yards on the ground.
  • Jalyn Gramstad threw for 287 yards (15-for-34) and a pair of touchdowns; also led the team with his 47 rushing yards.
  • Both Austyn Gerard and Konner McQuillan brought down receiving touchdowns.
  • Michael Storey records his 15th-career 100-yard receiving game in his final game as a Red Raider.
  • He finishes second in career receiving yards with 4,670 receiving yards.
  • Logan Dykstra makes his first reception of the season in the first quarter.
  • Trystin Voss led the game with his 11 tackles, recording his first-career 10+ tackle game.
  • Kylar Fritz picked off his second pass of the season just before the half.
  • Clayton Bosma recorded his second interception of the season.
  • Kole Telford had four kickoff returns for 121 yards with a long of 48 yards.
  • The program record setting 27-game win streak comes to an end.
  • NWC and Keiser are now even in the all-time series (1-1) with both games in the national championship game.
Northwestern ends the season with a 14-1 (10-0 GPAC) record, winning their first Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) title in the GPAC-era and the first for McCarty. The Red Raiders also land the NAIA Player of the Year in Gramstad.
Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut
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