Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan football ended their two-game skid with their 34-28 win over Jamestown. Even with the first real snow fall and cold of the fall the Tigers offense was locked in from start to finish. DWU did it both on the ground and through the air with Austin Lee finishing with 212 and two touchdowns while senior running back Jamin Arend finished with 91 yards and two scores. Arend was the highlight of the game as he moved into the number one spot all-time in career rushing at DWU with 3,581 yards passing Francois Barnaud (2010-14). Dakota Wesleyan improves to 6-3 (5-3 GPAC) on the season locking up their first winning season since 2017.
Game Notes
- Jamin Arend became the all-time leader in career rushing yards in DWU history with his 91-yard performance.
- Austin Lee had his fifth multi-TD performance of the season with his 212 and 2 TD day.
- Jaxon Patrick went a perfect 2-2 on field goals and 4-4 on extra points in very tough conditions. The 10 points was also a career high.
- Dexter Curry III had a career high 1.5 sacks in just his second game at defensive line for the Tigers.
- Landon Ruesink grabbed his career-high and team high third interception in the win.
Recap
Dakota Wesleyan and Jamestown in the final stat sheet were very similar in most categories. The big difference that resulted in the outcome of the game was Jimmies’ two bad snaps on punts that resulted in either a blocked punt or a very short punt. The other was time of possession which DWU dominated 38:00-22:00. This was thanks to the Tigers balanced attack which opened running lanes in the run game and then had defensive backs getting caught looking in the backfield to support in the run game, creating space for receivers. Lee most of the day had a very clean pocket, only being sacked on time. On the other side of the ball the Tigers front 7 was getting after the quarterback all day with their three sacks and multiple hurries resulting in incompletions. Jamestown did most of their damage on big chunk plays with all of their touchdowns coming on plays that were 15+ yards. The Tigers also won the battle of third down going 7 of 15 for a 47% conversion rate compared to the Jimmies going 3 of 12 for 25%.
DWU moved the ball well in their first drive picking up three first downs but had to settle for a 31-yard field goal that Patrick would convert to give the Tigers an early 3-0 lead. On their next drive the Tigers increased that lead to 10-0 after Lee found Cole Holden in the corner of the endzone 10 yards out for the score. This was Holden’s third touchdown of the season and sixth in his two-year career. Patrick and company caught everyone off guard when on the kickoff they onside kicked and recovered giving DWU the ball back with their 10-0 lead. That hype wouldn’t last long, with Lee’s pass on the first offensive play getting intercepted by the Jimmies and returned to the DWU 41. Jamestown connected on a 34-yard-deep ball shortly after to get them on the board and cut the lead to three.
Lee showed the leadership and toughness he has when he led a 11 play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped off with a 16-yard connection between him and Logan Feuerbach to push the Tigers lead back to 10. This was Feuerbach’s first career touchdown as well. On the ensuing Jamestown drive Caleb Maciejewski got off the block and came up with a big tackle for a loss on first down to stop the UJ drive before it even started. On the Jamestown punt, the snap went over the punter’s head and when he recovered and attempted to punt it Victor Kniesche was all over it blocking it and recovering at the DWU 7, setting the Tigers up with great field position. Three plays later Arend punched it in from four yards out to increase the lead to 24-7. Both teams stayed off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half to keep the score there.
Jamestown out of the half didn’t waste much time going 62 yards in four plays to knock the Tiger lead down to 24-14. Late in the third quarter the Tigers were on the move again on offense but stalled out and went to Patrick again to convert a short yardage field goal which he converted, making it 27-14. On the next UJ drive and first play the Jimmies connected on a 57-yard pass giving them first and goal at the seven. Like all season the Tiger defense bent but didn’t break and forced a turnover on downs and kept the Jimmies off the scoreboard. Later in the quarter, with the snow coming down and the field conditions getting slick, Lee mishandled a snap that ended up being recovered by the Jimmies and setting up a 18-yard touchdown pass to cut the Tiger lead to 27-21. With 3:51 remaining in the game and Jamestown with the ball it was now or never for the Tiger defense. Ethan McCune and Dexter Curry III stepped up when their team needed them most with an 11-yard split sack on first down. The sack was followed by three straight incompletions resulting in a turnover on downs. Dakota Wesleyan made it a two-score game when Arend found the endzone for the second time from 11-yards out. Jamestown went 69-yards in 1:29 on the next drive to get within six again, but didn’t recover the onside kick resulting in a 34-28 final.
Head-to-Head (Jamestown)
- Dakota Wesleyan improves to 18-13 all-time against Jamestown.
- The Tigers dropped last year’s matchup 34-30 in Jamestown.
Up Next
- Dakota Wesleyan football returns to the Q’ to wrap up their 2023 home schedule with senior day against No. 1 ranked team in the country and defending National Champions, Northwestern College.