YANKTON, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan Football traveled down to Yankton to square off against the Mount Marty Lancers in the CorTrust Bank Dakota Railroad Rivalry game.
The Tiger defense forced a Lancer punt on the contest’s opening drive, but a fumble on DWU’s ensuing possession gave Mount Marty another chance to work down the field and score, putting Dakota Wesleyan at a 6-0 deficit in the first quarter following a failed extra point attempt. The offense soon settled into the game for the Tigers, being led by backup quarterback Connor Drake, who replaced the injured Jenson from the week prior. Drake showed that he was ready to play, going 26-39 for 402 yards, and threw the first of his four touchdowns to Chase McGillivary in the first quarter to give Dakota Wesleyan a 7-6 lead. McGillivary ended the day with 49 yards receiving.
Scoring drives began to roll in the second quarter, as both the Tigers and Lancers put up one-play scoring drives within a few minutes of each other to even the contest at 14-14. Caleb Kilbride caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from Drake as a part of his career-best 105-yard receiving performance. The big play was set up by an interception by Mikey Hart, and a pick from Landon Ruesink on the following drive kept the momentum in DWU’s favor. Following a Mount Marty field goal, the Tiger defense showed up in a big way before the end of the half, as a sack and forced fumble from Cody Winslow resulted in a 45-yard scoop-and-score from fellow defensive lineman Weston Wollberg to reclaim the lead, 21-17. Winslow would exit the game early due to injury, but he still put up an incredible performance, posting seven total tackles, three and-a-half tackles-for-loss, two and-a-half sacks, a block on an extra point, and a quarterback hurry.
The third quarter was mostly in favor of Dakota Wesleyan, as a 20-yard field goal from Danny Carsrud was followed up by a Mount Marty fumble on the ensuing kickoff return to set up a 12-yard touchdown run from Koby Kayser to extend DWU’s lead to 31-17 with just over 20 minutes left in the contest. The Tigers connected on another big touchdown pass from Drake, this time to Steven Christion, for a 64-yard score, but three fourth-quarter touchdowns from the Lancers would end up sending the game to overtime with the contest tied at 38-38.
Mount Marty started overtime with the ball and would gain 13 yards on the opening play, but the DWU defense held strong on the next three plays to force a field goal, which the Lancers connected on to take a 41-38 lead before DWU took possession. Drake missed his target on Dakota Wesleyan’s first offensive play in overtime, but a 25-yard pass to the back of the end zone to an open Christion would secure the win for the Tigers on a walk-off. On top of catching the game-winning reception, Christion ended the day with a career-best 129 yards and two touchdowns. Grayson Hanson and Joe Van Overschelde led the defense in tackles on the day with nine each.
The Tigers move to 4-5 on the year and 3-5 in GPAC play with two games remaining in the 2025 season. DWU Football will be back in action against Midland at Joe Quintal Field on Saturday, November 8th, at 1:00 PM.