Courtesy of Midland Athletics
ORANGE CITY, Iowa – It was a battle of highly-ranked and playoff-hopeful teams as No. 15 Midland University traveled to take on No. 3 Northwestern College on Saturday. The two teams entered the game tied for second place in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) with their only loss coming at the hands of No. 1-ranked Morningside. The rankings held true as the Raiders bested the Warriors, 42-10, to essentially lock up an at-large bid to the NAIA Postseason. Midland fell to 8-2 on the season and will need some help from others around the country as they vie for one of the few remaining bids.
Early on, everything seemed to be going Northwestern’s way as they scored touchdowns on each of their first two drives and added another in the second quarter. Midland finally broke through with a 30-yard field goal from Jared Quinonez. The drive nearly stalled but a trick play on 4th-and-2 set kept things going for the Warriors. With the bulk of the offensive line set up near the far-right boundary, Jacob Jones took the snap and found Jordelle Lacy for the 40-yard catch and run.
After the break, Northwestern’s powerful offense put up two more touchdowns via their ground game to make it 35-3. Just before the end of the third quarter, their defense put up points as they returned an interception for a touchdown, making the deficit nearly impossible for Midland with 15-plus minutes to play.
The Warriors kept battling though and had their best drive of the game in the final quarter. Desmond Prusia guided the offense 80 yards on eight plays. The drive was capped off by a touchdown pass from Prusia to Trevor Havlovic from eight yards out. Quinonez’s kick was true, making the final score 42-10.
Offensively, Midland picked up 274 yards on the day. They threw for 157 and ran for 117. Prusia completed 11-of-19 passes for 117 yards and a score. Tyson Denkert carried the ball 12 times for 45 yards, to lead the team in both categories, while Prusia picked up 19 yards on 9 runs. Lacy finished with five catches for 54 yards to lead the receiving group.
On the other side of the ball, Xavier Green led the defense with six total tackles. Chase Lipsys, Uiti Moe, and Dane Christensen all had four. Tayver Thornbrugh had an interception, helping the Warriors even the turnover battle at 1-1.
Midland (8-2, 7-2 GPAC) will look to rebound next Saturday in their regular-season finale. They’ll host Dordt (6-3, 6-3 GPAC) on Senior Day at Heedum Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on November 12 in Fremont, Nebraska.
