The Raiders put on a show during homecoming week at Northwestern College for the biggest home crowd of the season. They dominated the Mount Marty Lancers coming off their first conference win as a program.
The Raiders received the ball to start the game and just three plays later, Jalyn Gramstad connected with Michael Storey for a 36-yard touchdown. That was just the beginning. The Raider defense held the Lancers to a three and out.
Five plays later, Gramstad thew another touchdown pass to Tanner Schouten. On the next possession, a miscommunication by the defensive led to a 50-yard touchdown pass by the Lancers.
The celebration would be short-lived as the PAT was blocked by the Raider defense. The Raiders put the pedal to the metal after scoring an astounding 44 unanswered points. The next Raider drives stalled out on their own 33-yard line, but on fourth and 18, Coach Matt McCarty called on kicker Eli Stader to attempt a 50-yard field goal.
Fresh off a hip injury, Stader nailed the kick with room to spare making the score 17-6. Another Lancer three-and-out gave the ball right back to the Raider offense and Konner McQuillan earned another touchdown.
On second and goal, Gramstad made his only mistake of the day throwing an interception on the goal line. Another Mount Marty punt gave the Raiders the ball at their own 25-yard line. A balanced drive led the Raiders to the red zone where Gramstad connected with Storey for a 5-yard touchdown.
The next Lancer possession started with a 55-yard completion that put them in the redzone. A few plays later, their excitement diminished. The Lancers threw an interception which gave the ball right back to the Raiders.
Gramstad scored a touchdown three plays later. The Lancers got the ball back and ran out the clock to go into halftime trailing 38-6. The Raiders put up two more scores in the third quarter, both coming on short runs by McQuillan.
In the fourth quarter, the Raiders started working in their subs and the offense stalled out. A blocked punt and safety by the Lancers concluded the scoring in the absolute dominating performance by both the Raider offense and defense.
The Raiders won 52-8; Gramstad ended the game with 4 touchdowns and 343 yards, McQuillan totaled 2 rushing touchdowns and 123 yards, and Storey added 9 receptions, 139 yards, and 2 touchdowns to his All-American resumé.
After crushing the Dordt Defenders 23-0, Northwestern College is 5-1 and looking to continue their 5-game win streak Saturday, October 22 at 1 p.m. in Crete, Nebraska where they will take on the Doane Tigers.
