[Football] No. 5 Northwestern Downs Tiger Football
Doane Football traveled to Orange City, Iowa, on Saturday to take on No. 5 Northwestern. The Tigers missed on some early opportunities to grab momentum and the Red Raiders were able to post a 23-3 win. Doane drops to 4-5 on the season and 4-3 in the GPAC.
On the opening kickoff, Riley Heithoff (JR/Raymond, Neb.) forced a fumble however Northwestern was able to recover. They marched down to the red zone where the Tiger defense was able to get a stop on third down, however, a facemask call gave the Red Raiders a first down and two plays later they were in the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
The Tigers took their first possession into Northwestern territory, converting a 4th down play. The drive was stymied with a holding penalty, a sack, and an illegal block penalty which would force Doane to punt.
As the teams went to the 2nd quarter, Northwestern had possession with a 7-0 lead. On the opening play of the quarter, Doane's Mason Krause (SO/Lyndon, Kan.) intercepted a pass and returned it near midfield. The Tigers drove into Northwestern territory only to have a pass intercepted near the end zone on a dropped pass.
Northwestern drove the field and picked up a 25-yard field goal with eight minutes to play in the quarter for a 10-0 lead. On the Tigers' next possession, they were able to pick up a couple of first downs as they moved into NWC territory. A holding penalty and a sack stopped the drive and Doane was forced to punt. The Red Raiders led 10-0 at the half.
Doane received the ball to open the second half. On the first play, Jacobi White (JR/Grapevine, Texas) took the handoff and made a Northwestern player miss a tackle at the line of scrimmage and White raced down field for a 68-yard carry as he was tackled at the NWC 7-yard line. The Tigers were held to a 25-yard field goal as they cut into the deficit.
Northwestern quickly responded with a touchdown drive, using two plays over 20 yards to move up the field. The three-yard touchdown run by Garrett Packer gave NWC a 17-3 lead with 9:33 to play in the quarter. Doane was held to a 3-and-out on their next possession. Levi Sudbeck (SR/Hadar, Neb.) was able to flip the field with his punt, booming a 64-yarder that resulted in a touchback.
Doane's defense forced a 3-and-out and a 15-yard punt by Northwestern gave the Tigers the ball in Red Raider territory. Doane was limited to four yards on their next drive and missed a 49-yard field goal attempt. Northwestern responded with a touchdown on the following possession. The score was set up with a 4th-and-1 conversion followed by a 54-yard score from Packer. The extra point was missed, marking the end of the scoring in the game as neither team was able to get on the board in the 4th quarter.
White led the Tiger ground game with 135 rushing yards. His total is the most individual rushing yards for a Tiger back since Kyle Jensen (SR/Exeter, Neb.) ran for 133 against Hastings in 2017 and is the second time Doane has had a 100-yard rushing since Jensen's 2017 game. Doane finished with 162 yards rushing in the game.
Drake Davidson (JR/Moberly, Mo.) threw for 94 yards on eight completions, hitting Josh Baker (JR/Omaha, Neb.) four times for 51 yards.
Defensively, Brody Azbill (SR/Phoenix, Ariz.) led Doane with eight tackles. Connor O'Toole (SR/Wilber, Neb.) and Zane Koskelin (SR/Mabank, Texas) were each in on six tackles. Riley Homolka (JR/Wilber, Neb.) recorded Doane's lone sack, forced a fumble, and broke-up two passes.
Doane will host No. 1 Morningside on Saturday, November 2, in Crete. Prior to the game, Doane will recognize their seniors.