ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- Tyson Kooima couldn’t be contained on Saturday afternoon.
He threw for 272 yards and four touchdowns in the first half of a Great Plains Athletic Conference game, and then sat on the sidelines watching the final 30 minutes of Northwestern College’s (Iowa) 50-16 win over Dakota Wesleyan University.
Kooima completed 8 of 14 passes, guiding an offense that averaged 13.8 yards per play in the first half and 12.2 yards per play in the game. He had touchdown throws of 73, 70 and 91 yards, along with a 14-yard touchdown toss, that saw a mixture of Northwestern receivers getting behind DWU’s secondary and simply running through defenders.
Nate Rupprecht and Sam Kretschmar both intercepted a pass, but otherwise, the Tigers struggled to stop the Red Raider offense. Backup quarterback Blake Fryar completed 5 of 8 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. The passing game largely targeted Cade Moser (151 yards / 2 TDs) and Shane Solberg (112 yards / 2 TDs), but Logan Meyer also broke off a 73-yard touchdown run on his first collegiate carry.
DWU relied on its run game early, but transitioned toward letting Zach Lester air it out with a growing deficit. Lester finished 18 of 30 for 173 yards, a touchdown and interception. Daniel Libolt led the receiver corps with 53 yards on five receptions.
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Lester and Mitchell native Spencer Neugebauer, who finished with 52 yards on eight grabs, connected on a nice throw-and-catch for DWU’s first touchdown. Backup Jimmie Garewal threw a touchdown to Chance Sorensen in the final minute of the game, but the Tigers never could climb back from a 29-0 halftime deficit.
DWU’s offensive line played better and it committed fewer penalties (2) than in its Week 1 loss at Hastings (Neb.), which helped it pick up 21 first downs. However, Jamin Arend still was held to 59 yards on 23 carries and the Tigers couldn’t sustain drives into scoring position. Tate Gale made a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter, but missed an extra point.
DWU (0-2, 0-2 GPAC) hosts Dordt (Iowa) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Joe Quintal Field.
