No.14 Northwestern scored the final 28 points in defeating Dordt 41-23 for senior day held at DeValois Stadium, Korver Field this afternoon. The win improves the Red Raiders to 6-1 in the GPAC, 8-1 overall, heading into their bye week and one game left thereafter in the regular season. Dordt falls to 2-4 in conference play, 4-4 overall.
After trailing in the first half and down 23-13 with five minutes left in the third quarter, Northwestern scored 28 consecutive points over the final 20 minutes to earn the come-from-behind win.
Tyson Kooima scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns on a 13-yard run to start the Northwestern rally with 4:31 left in the third, cutting the Defenders lead to 23-20. The Raider D then forced a Defender punt after just three plays and Kooima led the Red Raiders on a three-play, 63-yard scoring drive capped with the freshman’s eight-yard run to give his team their first lead, 27-23. A 53-yard pass from Kooima to Levi TeBrink helded set up the touchdown, giving the Red Raiders 1st-and-goal.
Both teams went scoreless on their next two possessions, and following a fourth-and-one stop by Tanner Machacek and the Raider D, Kooima finished off an impressive nine-play, 70-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run to put the hosts in front 34-23. Another fourth down stop at the Defenders’ 21-yard line set up the Red Raiders final score, a two-yard run by Jacob Kalogonis, giving the Red Raiders the 41-23 win.
Northwestern totaled 525 yards, third highest output of the season, including 307 rushing yards, averaging over eight yards per carry. Kalogonis rushed 24 times for 214 yards and two touchdowns, his second 200-yard game of the season and fourth straight game with at least 100 yards. The sophomore pushed his season total to 1,162 yards, ranking ninth on the all-time charts for rushing yards in a season at NW. He is also the first NW player to rush for 1,000+ yards in a season since both Brandon Smith (1,415) and Theo Bartman (1,246) in 2012.
Kooima added 13 carries for 84 yards and a career-best three rushing touchdowns while passing for 218 yards on 13 completions. Kooima passed both Davis Bloemendaal (2,213yds in 2012) and Craig Hector (2,360yds in 2007) and into seventh place all-time with 2,388 passing yards in a season. Shane Solberg caught three passes for 37 yards and TeBrink grabbed two catches for 58 yards.
Machacek led the Raider D with a career-high 11 tackles, including nine solo stops, and also registered the team’s only quarterback sack. Both Bryce Van Beek and Jerod Hansen accounted for 7.5 tackles and Van Beek nabbed his team-leading sixth interception in the fourth quarter. Joey Novotny and Jacob Jenness totaled 6.5 and 5.5 tackles, respectively.
Dordt’s Keithan Drury opened the game’s scoriong on the Defenders first drive with a 41-yard run to make it 7-0 less than three minutes into the game. Both team’s went scoreless until Northwestern wide receiver Shane Solberg reached the endzone on a nine-yard run off a reverse early in the second quarter to make it 7-6. Dordt added a 43-yard field goal by Jeff Paepke midway through the second quarter and closed the first half with a three-yard touchdown pass from Brock Lamle to Jake Dodge, putting the Defenders in front 16-6 at the break.
Both teams were forced to punt after their first possessions of the second half and then Kalogonis scored on a 39-yard run to make it a one score game, 16-13. Dordt came back on its next drive and scored for the final time on a 41-yard run by Lamle on a fourth down, putting the Defenders back in front 23-13.
Dordt totaled 386 yards of offense, 274 rushing and 112 through the air. Drury totaled 29 carries for 154 yards and a touchdown and Lamle accounted for 164 yards of offense and two scores. Joey Lovetere was tops for the Defenders defense with 10.5 tackles and Casey Byker added nine stops.