Tigers look to bounce back against Red Raiders
MITCHELL, S.D. – A week after being shut out in their Great Plains Athletic Conference opener, the Dakota Wesleyan University football team returns home in search of their first conference win of the season as they battle No. 10 Northwestern College under the lights at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Joe Quintal Field.
MITCHELL,S.D. – A week after being shut out in their Great Plains Athletic Conference opener, the Dakota Wesleyan University football team returns home in search of their first conference win of the season as they battle No. 10 Northwestern College under the lights at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Joe Quintal Field.
Despite holding Briar Cliff University off the scoreboard in the first quarter a week ago, the Tigers struggled to keep up as the Chargers tallied 17 points in the second frame. BCU went on to score 30 points in the second half, en-route to a 47-0 defeat of DWU.
However, the Tigers return home with one of the toughest defenses in the GPAC. DWU ranks fifth in the conference in rushing yards allowed per game with just 125.3 rushing yards allowed per game, while ranking fourth in the GPAC in passing yards allowed per game with just 165 passing yards allowed per contest.
Tyler Wagner (Webster, S.D.) also ranks near the top of the conference in tackles for loss as he comes in third with 4.5 tackles for loss. Alan Murtic (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Cody Reichelt (Mitchell, S.D.) each rank 11th in the conference with three tackles for loss this season.
On the offensive side of the ball, Luke Loudenburg (Canova, S.D.) continues to be a work horse as he averages 130 rushing yards per game, good for 12th in the NAIA and second in the GPAC. Loudenburg leads the conference in total rushing yards with 390 yards on the ground on 65 rushing attempts and ranks sixth nationally in the same category.
About the Series
The Red Raiders lead the all-time series played, holding a 15-4 record over DWU. Last season, NWC defeated the Tigers 41-13 at Joe Quintal Field.
About the Coaches
Ross Cimpl was named the GPAC Coach-of-the-Year and the AFCA Region 4 Coach-of-the-Year following the 2013 season that saw his Tigers boast an 8-3 record.
Matt McCarty is in his third season as the Red Raiders' head coach. He has coached 18 All-American players and four GPAC Defensive-Player-of-the-Year recipients.
About the Northwestern Red Raiders
The Red Raiders boast a 2-0 record and a national ranking of 10th in the NAIA. They avoided an early-season upset after coming back to defeat Midland University last week, 26-25. NWC leans towards passing the ball as they average 306 passing yards and 32 passing attempts per game, compared to 119 rushing yards and 33 rush attempts per contest.
Tyson Kooima leads the Red Raiders at quarterback as he ranks eighth nationally with a 169.6 pass efficiency rating and 301 passing yards per game. His favorite target is Shane Solberg who ranks 10th nationally with seven receptions per game and leads the team with 101.5 receiving yards per game.
