ORANGE CITY, Iowa – For the third straight week, Midland University battled a ranked conference opponent. After dropping a contest to Dordt, two weeks ago, and falling to Morningside by seven points last week, Midland played its first road game of the year on Saturday against No. 2 Northwestern College. The Red Raiders, who have played in the NAIA National Championship game each of the past two seasons, defeated the Warriors in a closely contested game, 17-7.
Midland received the ball to begin the contest. After six plays, the Warriors were forced to punt, and the Red Raiders took over at their own 41-yard line. Midland’s defense looked stout early, forcing a three-and-out and a Northwestern punt. Jayden Shakir returned the kick 25 yards, and the Warriors took over at their own 45-yard line. However, three straight incomplete passes by Teryn Berry forced Midland to punt again. Northwestern took over at its own 35-yard line after another 25-yard return by Shakir. Midland could only muster five yards on the next drive and punted back to the Red Raiders. On the first play of the Northwestern drive, Hayden Groos connected with Tanner Schouten on a 70-yard touchdown pass. Eli Stader’s extra point was good, putting the Red Raiders ahead 7-0 with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter.
The Warriors tried to get the ground game going on the next drive; however, a fumble by Teryn Berry halted their progress, and Midland was forced to punt. A short 14-yard kick by Zach Hodge gave Northwestern the ball at the Midland 48-yard line. Midland’s defense held firm, forcing another three-and-out. Stader’s 56-yard punt went into the end zone, and Midland began its next drive after the touchback. Another short, three-play drive for the Warriors resulted in a punt. After Hodge’s 37-yard kick, Northwestern took over at its own 42-yard line and put together the longest drive of the game so far—six plays, which wrapped up the first quarter.
After a quarterback run for no gain to begin the second quarter, Northwestern punted, giving Midland the ball back at its own 15-yard line. Once again, the Midland offense stalled, and a three-and-out led to another punt. Northwestern took over at the Midland 44-yard line after the kick went out of bounds. Starting the drive in the Warriors’ territory, the Red Raiders capitalized. Konnor McQuillan finished off the five-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run. Stader’s kick extended Northwestern’s lead to 14-0 with 6:43 remaining in the second quarter.
To spark the offense, Midland executed an end-around pass from Anthony McPhee to Brady Singer for a 35-yard completion on the second play of the next drive. However, on fourth-and-eight from the Red Raiders’ 29-yard line, a pass from Teryn Berry to Jaydin Shakir was dropped, and the Warriors turned the ball over on downs. Northwestern regained possession, but Midland’s defense held strong, yielding just five yards and forcing another punt. The Warriors took over at their own 39-yard line, but the Red Raiders’ defense allowed just seven yards, forcing yet another Midland punt. Northwestern, starting from their own 18-yard line, ran six plays but was also forced to punt. Midland got the ball back at its own 25-yard line as the half ended with Northwestern leading 14-0.
Northwestern received the second-half kickoff and began a drive at its 21-yard line. Six plays later, Justin Gassaway sacked quarterback Hayden Groos, forcing a fumble, which Dane Christensen recovered at the Warriors’ 37-yard line. However, Midland couldn’t capitalize, and three plays later, Teryn Berry‘s pass was intercepted by Parker Fryar at the Warriors’ 47-yard line. Northwestern managed a six-play drive before stalling, forcing another punt. Eli Stader’s kick traveled just two yards, and Midland regained possession at its own 32-yard line. The Warriors brought in backup quarterback O’Marion Bartlett, who engineered a six-play, 68-yard drive capped off with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Adams Jr., putting Midland on the scoreboard for the first time. Cameron Spicer‘s extra point cut the deficit to 14-7 with 3:05 remaining in the third quarter.
The Red Raiders were forced to punt after three plays on the next drive, giving Midland the ball back at its own 37-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Bartlett rushed for 10 yards, picking up a first down as the quarter expired.
Midland’s momentum was halted on the second play of the fourth quarter when Bartlett’s pass was intercepted by Kole Telford and returned to the Northwestern 32-yard line. The Warriors’ defense responded, stopping the Red Raiders after three plays and forcing a punt. Midland started its next drive at its own 12-yard line. After two Bartlett carries for a first down, Brady Singer fumbled, and Northwestern’s Telford recovered at the Warriors’ 20-yard line. The Midland defense held strong again, keeping Northwestern out of the end zone, but Stader’s 32-yard field goal extended the Red Raiders’ lead to 17-7 with 8:11 remaining.
The Warriors’ offense then put together its most sustained drive of the game, marching 48 yards on nine plays. Facing fourth-and-19 from the Red Raiders’ 19-yard line, Bartlett was sacked by Northwestern’s Drake Harder, ending the threat. The Warriors’ defense forced another three-and-out, giving Midland another chance, starting at its own 25-yard line. Unfortunately, on the first play of the next drive, Bartlett’s deep pass was intercepted by Clayton Bosma and returned to the Northwestern 30-yard line. The Red Raiders knelt twice to run out the clock, securing a 17-7 victory.
No. 2-ranked Northwestern (3-0, 3-0 GPAC) recorded 12 first downs to Midland’s 9. The Red Raiders ran the ball 36 times for 99 yards and completed 14-of-22 passes for 184 yards. In total, they had 58 plays, resulting in 283 yards of offense.
Midland (1-3, 0-3 GPAC) rushed 29 times for 68 yards. In the air, the Warriors completed 9-of-27 passes for 154 yards, totaling 222 yards of offense on 56 plays.
The game featured 17 punts in total. Northwestern punted 10 times, averaging 34.4 yards per kick, while Midland punted seven times, averaging 29.3 yards per punt.
Konnor McQuillan led the Red Raiders in rushing with 20 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown. Hayden Groos completed 14-of-22 passes for 184 yards, including one touchdown with no interceptions. Peyton Carroll caught seven passes for 75 yards, while Tanner Schouten added two receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. Parker Fryar led Northwestern’s defense with 12 tackles, one-and-a-half for loss, and an interception
Kole Telford recorded seven tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception. Clayton Bosma contributed five tackles, including one for loss, along with an interception.
For Midland, O’Marion Bartlett led the team in rushing with 12 carries for 53 yards. He also completed 2-of-7 passes for 56 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Anthony McPhee completed both of his pass attempts for 74 yards, while Teryn Berry was 5-of-18 passing for 24 yards with one interception. Kevin Adams Jr. caught two passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Carter Wagner led Midland with eight tackles, including one for loss. Dane Christensen added four tackles, half a sack, one-and-a-half tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery.
Next Saturday, Northwestern will travel to face Doane while Midland will return to Heedum Field to host Dakota Wesleyan (0-3, 0-2 GPAC). Kickoff on Saturday, September 28, is set for 1:00 p.m. in Fremont, Nebraska.
