The Raiders advanced their record to 5-2 after beating Doane 31-23 on Saturday, Oct. 23. Northwestern gained 446 total yards, 359 on the ground. Senior Taylor Malm ran for 178 yards and a touchdown, plus three catches for 33 yards. Sophomore Brandon Smith added 142 yards and three touchdowns to go with two catches for 16 catches.
The Raiders hit pay dirt first after sophomore James Rodriguez’s 39-yard field goal and a one-yard touchdown run by Smith. Freshman Davis Bloemendaal replaced the injured junior Jayme Rozeboom at quarterback in the second quarter and went 3-13 for 26 yards on the game. Going into halftime, the host Tigers had tied it at 10-10.
Doane capitalized on a NW fumble in the second half and scored to put them up 16-10. The Raiders were not fazed and responded with two touchdowns, Smith from 18 yards out and Malm from one yard to give the Raiders a 24-16 lead. Smith added the insurance score in the fourth quarter after ramming the ball in from one yard out to give the Raiders a 31-16 lead. Doane added a late score for the final of 31-23.
The NW defense forced three turnovers and senior Grantley Samuels led the unit with eight tackles. Junior Ben Aguilera added seven more with two for loss. Sophomore Stanley Fleming contributed 5.5 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
The Raiders host Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.