Two nationally ranked teams collide in Orange City Saturday night when Morningside visits Northwestern. The Mustangs are ranked ninth in N-A-I-A and are the defending Great Plains Conference champs while Northwestern is ranked 12th.
Raiders coach Orv Otten says it may be early but there is a lot on the line from not on the conference perspective, but also from the national perspective. Morningside lost a number of key performers from last year’s high powered offense but the Mustang defense shined in last week’s season opener.
Otten says they fly to the ball and remind him of his defense as they create havoc on defense. Otten expects a great atmosphere for the game, as he says they always get big crowds for the game.
Morningside coach Steve Ryan says the defense needs to play well while the offense matures. He says the defense is ahead of the offense and part of that is they’re starting a redshirt freshman quarterback.
Ryan says this is a big game, as he says you find out where you are as a team and what you need to work on. Ryan says this has become a bigger rivalry in the past few years, as whoever has won the game has made it to the playoffs. He says it’s always a tough close game. Morningside opened with a victory over Midland Lutheran while Northwestern opened with a victory over Dakota State.