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Northwestern College Athletics

Northwestern College
HOME OF NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS ATHLETICS
HONORING CHRIST THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
Nike
fb-recap-261003
24
Concordia (NE) CUNE 2-3 , 2-3
38
Winner Northwestern NWC 4-2 , 4-1
Concordia (NE) CUNE
2-3 , 2-3
24
Final
38
Northwestern NWC
4-2 , 4-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
CUNE Concordia (NE) 7 0 7 10 24
NWC Northwestern 7 10 7 14 38

Game Recap: Football | | NWC Athletic Communications

Northwestern Defeats Concordia in Homecoming Showdown

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Matt McCarty became the third Raider football coach to reach the 100-win milestone as No. 21 Northwestern defeated Concordia (Neb.) 38-24 as part of this weekend's Raider Nation Celebration. The Red Raiders held the ball for over 40 minutes, picked up 35 first downs and converted on nine third downs.

"We ran the ball really well today. Our offensive line did a nice job of controlling and Josiah Heinz made some really nice runs," head coach Matt McCarty said. "We beat ourselves at times, but if we continue to clean that up we can be a scary football team. This group has a really high ceiling."
 
The Red Raiders turned their first offensive series into a 58-yard, seven-play touchdown drive after their defense forced a punt, with Colby Duncan completing passes of 14 yards to Austyn Gerard and 22 to Caleb Moore before hitting Carson Ness for a one-handed touchdown reception at 10:45. Gianna Bennett's extra point put the Raiders ahead 7-0, and the defense followed by forcing another Bulldogs punt after the visitors were backed up by penalties. The Bulldogs answered after Drake Trent intercepted Duncan at the 8:47 mark, driving 56 yards before Camden Jensen's seven-yard touchdown run and Peyton Atwood's kick tied the score 7-7 with 5:34 left. The Red Raiders responded with a sustained possession from their own 18, getting back-to-back Josiah Heinz runs for 21 yards and later moving inside the Bulldogs 10 on Duncan completions to Solomon Tea, as the first quarter ended tied 7-7.
 
In the second quarter, the Red Raiders scored 10 points, getting a 26-yard field goal from Bennett at 14:06 and later finishing an eight-play, 61-yard drive with Tea's 10-yard touchdown run at 1:02 to move the score to 17-7. Earlier in the quarter, the defense forced the Bulldogs into a punt after Jaxson Hildebrand stopped a 3rd-and-1 rush for no gain, and the offense followed with a 16-play, 77-yard possession that reached the Bulldogs eight-yard line before a missed field goal. The Raiders' defense answered again, allowing just nine yards on the next drive before Ness returned a punt 14 yards to set up the late scoring march. After Bennett's extra point, Jaelin Hines broke up a pass and Kolton Koopmans added a quarterback hurry during another Bulldogs three-and-out, helping the Red Raiders take a 17-7 lead into halftime.
 
After a blocked punt return for a Bulldogs touchdown, Northwestern put together a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive that pushed their advantage to 24-14. The Raiders' first possession of the half reached the Concordia 37 on Duncan's 21-yard completion to Moore before the blocked punt flipped the field. On the answer drive, the Raiders leaned on Heinz, Tea and Duncan on the ground, converted 4th-and-4 with Duncan's 10-yard pass to Gerard, and moved inside the 10 on an 11-yard completion to Ness before Duncan finished with a one-yard touchdown at 4:09. Concordia drove to the Raiders goal line late, but the Raiders got stops from Ayden Klein and Kylar Fritz on a tackle for loss, Jordan Carter on a pass breakup, Owen Lalumendre near the goal line and Rizg Osman on the final rush shown, leaving the Red Raiders ahead 24-14 at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Red Raiders reached the end zone on their two full fourth-quarter drives, with Duncan running in from 21 yards at 8:57 and finding Moore for a 25-yard score at 2:50, then closed out a 38-24 win. Earlier, Concordia opened the quarter with a 23-yard field goal that left the Raiders ahead 24-17, but the Red Raiders' next drive recovered from a holding call as Duncan hit Ness for 25 yards and Heinz followed with a 24-yard run to move the ball into the red zone. After a potential Heinz touchdown was wiped out by another holding penalty, Duncan's 21-yard run and Bennett's extra point pushed the score to 31-17. The Raiders' defense then faced a Bulldogs drive that reached the Northwestern 31, but Isaac Wenthe broke up a third-down pass before a false start and Hildebrand's fourth-down sack gave the ball back. The offense answered with a run-heavy possession capped by Duncan's touchdown pass to Moore, and although the Bulldogs scored with two seconds left, the Red Raiders finished with the 38-24 final.

Game Notes:
  • Head coach Matt McCarty earned his 100th career coaching win, becoming the third Red Raider football coach to reach 100 wins.
  • Colby Duncan threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 105 yards and two scores.
  • Josiah Heinz led the offense with 107 rushing yards.
  • Caleb Moore and Carson Ness each scored a touchdown.
  • Owen Lalumendre paced the Raider defense with seven tackles.
  • Ayden Klein had six stops and a tackle for loss.
  • Gianna Bennett went 5-for-5 on PATs and converted on a field goal.
Up Next: The Raiders will head to Briar Cliff next week for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.
Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut
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