The Northwestern football team faced off against cross-town rival Dordt College in their GPAC season opener. NW dominated the Defenders, winning 47-7. The Raiders are now 2-0 on the season (1-0 in GPAC play).
NW was led by very strong offensive performances. Senior wide receiver Sam Rall set a career high with eight catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Dominique Williams also set a career high with five catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
Making his second start as quarterback for the Red Raiders, junior Jonathan Kodama threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns; he also rushed for 40 yards with one rushing touchdown.
Senior running back Jessie Riley rushed for 65 yards and one touchdown, and junior running back Paul Hutson rushed for 76 yards.
“I think the win against Dordt showed that we could all mesh as a team,” said Williams of the well-rounded approach. “We came together, everyone contributing at each position accomplishing the goals we set for ourselves.”
NW dominated on offense, but their defense was nothing short of spectacular— allowing only 254 total yards and just one touchdown.
The Raider defense recorded two sacks and forced two fumbles, including an 80-yard returned fumble for a touchdown by senior linebacker Court Ecklund.
Junior defensive lineman Josh Treybal led the defense with eight tackles and a sack, and senior defensive back Jessie Walnofer had 4.5 tackles.
“The game against Dordt was a very big game for more reasons than just to beat our rival,” said Rall. “Although Dordt is not the toughest opponent we will play this year, our team benefitted from it to show exactly what we can do when all 11 guys on the field can execute on both sides of the ball. We really made strides to build confidence and chemistry as a unit throughout that contest.”
NW looks to build off their progress this week as they host Concordia for their home opener at 1 p.m. this Saturday at Korver Field.
