The Northwestern football team went on the road for the second week in a row and came away with a 21-7 victory over Hastings College. The win marks the seventh straight for the Raiders as they improved to a 7-0 record in conference play and 7-1 overall.
The host team was the first to put points on the board late in the first quarter on a short, three-yard pass to put the Broncos ahead 7-0 early in the contest. Just two possessions later, NW was able to tie the game with a 38-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Braden Miltenberger to sophomore receiver Landon Johnson on the second play of the drive.
The Raider defense helped set up the next score when freshmen defensive end Nick Acoba recovered a fumble at the Hastings 35-yard line. Senior running back Brady Timmer scored on a four-yard scoring run to give the Raiders a 14-7 advantage just before the half.
NW increased their lead in the third quarter with a 10-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown pass from Miltenberger to junior tight end Levi Ettleman. An impressive second half by the Raider defense helped maintain this lead for the remainder of the outing as they held the Broncos to just a single first down in the last 20 minutes of the game.
The NW offense collected 383 total yards and 21 first downs in the contest. The Raiders rushed for a total of 226 yards. Sophomore running back Paul Hutson ran for 108 yards on 15 carries.
“We beat them deep in the passing game early, which opened up the running lanes for our backs,” said senior guard Andrew Hulstein.
The visitors also recorded 142 yards in the air lead by Johnson, who racked-up 58 yards and a score.
On the defensive end, NW allowed only 142 total yards of offense and held Hastings to just seven first downs by the game’s end. Leading the impressive effort was senior linebacker Greg Hegstad, who collected 10.5 stops including a career-best three sacks. Four other Raiders also collected sacks including sophomore Josh Treybal, sophomore Sam Van Ginkel, junior Jake Zylstra and junior Lawton De Jong.
NW will head to Sioux City this Saturday to face the top-ranked Morningside Mustangs with game time set for 1:00 p.m.
