Mitchell, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan Tigers snapped the Trojans six-game winning streak with their convincing 23-13 win last night at Joe Quintal field. With a packed house the Tigers didn’t disappoint the DWU faithful by throwing up 21 unanswered points in the first 16 minutes of the game. The offense stayed off the scoreboard but got help from the defense in Ethan Engen recording his fifth career blocked punt/kick that resulted in a safety. DWU was led by redshirt sophomore quarterback, Austin Lee who was 14-23 for 243 yards and two touchdowns. Jamin Arend did it both in the run and pass game with 120 total yards and a score. Cole Holden set a new career-high with his 88 yards receiving thanks to a 72-yard touchdown from Lee halfway through the first quarter. On defense the Tigers were led by Victor Kniesche with his eight tackles and lone DWU sack. Landon Ruesink added eight tackles, Adam DeJong picked up right where he left off last year with a clutch interception, and Joseph VanOverschelde recorded his first career interception right before the half.
Recap
The Tigers entered the matchup 0-6 in their last six meetings with the Trojans and were looking to end the streak in front of a packed house that showed up early and loud. DSU won the toss and deferred giving the Tigers a chance to strike first. DWU did just that mounting a methodical 14 play, 65 yard, 7:15 drive that was capped off with Jamin Arend punching it in from one yard out. The Tigers converted four third downs during the drive including a perfectly timed middle screen to Arend on third and ten for a 21-yard gain. Receiver Preston Nedved and Lee were on the same page the whole drive with 33 of Lee’s 53 total passing yards going in his direction. After the converted extra point from Jaxon Patrick, who went a perfect 3-3 on extra points during the contest, the Tigers claimed an early 7-0 lead.
The Tiger defense had no plans of letting the Trojans answer or mount any kind of drive forcing them three and out. With the ball back on their own 28, Lee dropped back and connected with Cole Holden on the left hash and Holden pulled away from the Trojan defender for a 72-yard touchdown, putting DWU up 14-0 with five minutes left in the first. On the ensuing Trojan drive the Tigers again weren’t giving an inch forcing a second straight three and out. With DWU back on the offense the Tigers looked to put DSU in a 21-0 hole and a three straight touchdown drives to open the game. Dakota Wesleyan did just that with an eight play, 70-yard drive that was capped off with a familiar connection in Lee to senior wide receiver Kiel Nelson from 22-yards out. Though the connection to Nelson was the play that put points on the board, the highlight of the drive came on third and sixteen when Lee stepped up in the pocket feeling the Trojan outside rush pressure and found an open Wyatt VanDenTop down field for a 20-yard gain giving the Tigers a first down. On the ensuing play Lee connected with Nelson on a perfectly ran out and up route, hitting Nelson right in stride to put the Tigers up 21-0 in the first minute of the second quarter.
DSU offense finally got to the Tiger defense going seven plays for 74 yards and knocking the Tiger lead down to 14 with 10 minutes left in the first half. The Dakota Wesleyan offense on their next three possessions hit a dry spell by only having three yards of total offense and one turnover after the scorching start to the game. The Tiger defense did their job keeping the Trojans off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half though and forced three turnovers along the way to halt any kind of threat. The first turnover came from linebacker Grayson Hanson ripping the ball out of the DSU backs grip and returning it 43 yards to the DSU 23. Facing a fourth down on their own 27 the Trojans were electing to punt, but Ethan Engen had other plans blocking his fifth career kick and covering up the ball carrier in the endzone for a safety. The last turnover came right before half thanks to Joseph VanOverschelde stepping in front of the pass near the DSU sideline. The Tigers went to the locker room with a 23-7 lead at halftime.
Third quarter had the continued struggles for the Tigers, who went scoreless the entire quarter. The defense held their own, only allowing one touchdown that came on a trick, double pass, play from 32 yards to narrow the Tiger lead to 23-13. Head coach and defensive coordinator Ross Cimpl and his defense put their foot down there and would keep the Trojans scoreless for the remainder of the 22 minutes of play. The offense, struggling to find their rhythm again did enough for their defense by running the ball, taking time off, not turning the ball over, and trusting their defense to come through. The Trojans were looking like they might make it a one score game by mounting a long drive and getting in the redzone to start the fourth quarter. On second and eight from the DWU 22 the Trojans for a second looked like they had an open receiver with a step on the Tiger defender in the middle of the field, but then out of nowhere All-American Adam DeJong intercepted the pass and returned it 10 yards to pretty much seal it up. DWU picked up enough first downs on offense with Arend and Garrett Mandolfo in the ground game to put the game on ice and return the Chamber of Commerce traveling trophy back home.
Head-to-Head (Dakota State University)
- Tigers are now 40-36-1 all-time against the Trojans
- Dakota Wesleyan is now 4-6 in the last 10 matchups against Dakota State
- DWU has outscored DSU 266-261 during that 10-game stretch
Up Next
- Dakota Wesleyan football returns to Joe Quintal to square off against the Broncos of Hastings College September 2, at 1 p.m. The Broncos won their first matchup of the 2023 season 37-31 in overtime against Peru State.