ORANGE CITY, Iowa — The Dordt University football team knew it wasn’t going to be easy to snap a losing streak to Northwestern College that’s lasted nearly two decades.
But the Defenders did just that on Saturday.
And, no, it was not easy.
“I told them before the game that we were going to get punched today,” Dordt head coach Joel Penner said. “We haven’t been put through a lot of adversity before tonight, but I knew it was coming. So at halftime, I basically just said, ‘Here it is. I told you so.'”
Dordt, ranked 15th in the NAIA, went into the intermission facing a 10-point deficit, but ultimately prevailed over the No. 14-ranked Red Raiders, 21-20, on Korver Field at De Valois Stadium in Orange City on Saturday night in Great Plains Athletic Conference play.
“We have the teammates, we have the coaches, we have it all. Our coaches set us up for success and we just have to execute,” said Dordt junior running back Connor Dodd, a Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn alum who scored the game-winning touchdown on a four-yard pass from quarterback Noah Strickfaden with 13 seconds left in the game. “”The only thing I can say is that I was blessed to be in that position and have that opportunity.”
Dordt (3-0, 3-0 GPAC) was down 17-0 before driving 95 yards in 1 minute, 21 seconds on five plays to score on a halfback pass by Keenan Valverde to sophomore Eliot Beal with 36 seconds left in the second quarter.
Northwestern (2-2, 2-2 GPAC) intercepted the sophomore Strickfaden three times in the first half, and one was taken 53 yards the other way by Jordan Carter for a pick-six that put NWC up 17-0.
The Red Raiders scored the game’s first touchdown with 6 minutes, 14 seconds left in the opening quarter when Gardner Casey reached the end zone from 15 yards out.
Gianna Bennett put NWC up 10-0 with a 26-yard field goal with just over four minutes left in the second quarter before Carter took his interception to the house.
Bennett added a 36-yard field goal midway through the third to make it 20-7 Northwestern, but Dordt responded with a seven play, 87-yard drive capped off by a remarkable leaping catch by Jake Van Donge on the receiving end of a 27-yard throw by Strickfaden.
The Strickfaden-to-Dodd score capped off a nine play, 93-yard drive that lasted less than three minutes as to set up the go-ahead extra point by Stephen Leinen.
Strickfaden ended the game 17 of 29 for 245 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions plus 68 yards rushing on 10 carries to lead the team in both categories.
“I’ve never felt that level of adversity before in football,” Strickfaden said. “But my teammates had my back. Really I just stayed confident, stayed the course and just executed better in the second half.”
Beal led the Dordt receiving corps with five catches for 89 yards and a score while on defense, Zach Quiring and Isaac Kacmaryns shared the team high for tackles with seven each.
Northwestern junior Kylar Fritz led the game with nine tackles while senior Ben Egli had seven tackles and two interceptions.
Sophomore quarterback Colby Duncan went 14 of 19 passing for 162 yards for the Red Raiders while also chipping in 38 rushing yards. Casey, a freshman, had 15 carries for 57 yards and a TD out of the Red Raider backfield.
The Defenders only held a lead for 13 seconds, but it was enough to give Dordt its first win over Northwestern in 19 games.
After the game, Penner’s postgame included recognizing the former Dordt players who were there to witness the win.
“Just imagine 18 yards of disappointment. Eighteen years of putting your heart into something but it not going the way you want,” Penner said. “We stood on the shoulders of our alumni. It meant a lot to us for them to be here. Their presence was very motivating for us. Building a program at Dordt hasn’t been an easy road. We’ve taken the right way, which is sometimes the hard way.
“I don’t know which words there are in the English language to describe how proud I am of these guys. We got off to a really tough start, but I just love the fight in this team. I told them after the game, this was a test in faith and how we stayed on the task at hand. That’s what we did.”
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