Joel Nixon threw 3 touchdowns in Morningside's 34-7 win over NorthwesternSIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
There's no more debating who is number one in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Morningside upended Northwestern 34-7 on Saturday. The Red Raiders were picked to win the conference over the Mustangs.
M'side quarterback Joel Nixon completed16-of-29 passes for 160 yards and three scores and has been named conference offensive player of the week.
During the game, Nixon led the Mustangs on a 17-play, 88 yard drive that milked more than seven minutes off the clock as they opened up a 20-0 lead late in the second quarter.
Morningside led 27-0 at the half.
Teammate Ty Littzen has earned Special Teams Player of the Week Honors.
The freshman kicker opened the scoring with a 51-yard field goal, and added a 45-yarder as Morningside improved to 2-0 on the year.
With the win, the Mustangs climb from eighth to fourth in this week's NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Northwestern drops out of the top 10, and is tied for 17th.
2012 NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Poll - No. 1 (Sept. 10)
RANK LAST TIME SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) 2012 RECORD TOTAL POINTS
1 1 Saint Xavier (Ill.) (14) 2-0 314
2 3 Marian (Ind.) 3-0 301
3 4 Georgetown (Ky.) 2-0 291
4 8 Morningside (Iowa) 2-0 273
5 9 Missouri Valley 2-0 271
6 13 Benedictine (Kan.) 2-0 244
7 14 William Penn (Iowa) 3-0 241
8 16 Eastern Oregon 2-0 213
T9 20 St. Ambrose (Iowa) 2-0 199
T9 18 Baker (Kan.) 3-0 199
11 6 Saint Francis (Ind.) 2-1 187
12 2 Carroll (Mont.) 1-2 186
13 5 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 1-1 185
14 19 Cumberlands (Ky.) 2-0 154
15 15 Grand View (Iowa) 2-1 139
16 21 Doane (Neb.) 2-0 128
T17 7 St. Francis (Ill.) 1-2 112
T17 10 Northwestern (Iowa) 1-1 112
19 NR Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 3-0 106
20 NR Montana Tech 1-1 84
21 17 Valley City State (N.D.) 1-1 54
22 NR Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 2-0 52
23 NR Taylor (Ind.) 2-0 22
24 RV Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 2-1 21
25 22 Cumberland (Tenn.) 1-1 19
