Tigers stay perfect with 45-14 win against Briar Cliff
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Saturday was a big day on the field for the Dakota Wesleyan University football team, and for the entire Great Plains Athletic Conference.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Saturday was a big day on the field for the Dakota Wesleyan University football team, and for the entire Great Plains Athletic Conference.
The Tigers matched their best start in GPAC history and improved to 3-0 win a 45-14 win against Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. This is the second time in league history and the second straight year Dakota Wesleyan, which is ranked No. 21 in the NAIA, has gotten off to a 3-0 start.
The win vaults DWU to the top of the conference as, elsewhere in the league, two of the top teams in the conference – and the NAIA – were upset. Unranked Nebraska Wesleyan University upset No. 3 Morningside College 30-23 and Doane College, which received votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Football Coaches' Poll, upset No. 16 Northwestern College 20-8. The loss marks the second straight for the Red Raiders, who lost to Morningside on Sept. 10.
The Tigers had the chance to put the game away early against Briar Cliff (1-2, 0-2 GPAC), but a fumble late in the second quarter gave the Chargers the ball and the opportunity to score. Dakota Wesleyan led 21-14 at halftime, and widened the gap when Josh Endres caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Jon Bane with 11 seconds left in the third quarter to go up 28-14.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers put the game away for good.
Anthony Muilenburg caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Bane to start the fourth quarter, and Leif Evers hit a 27-yard field goal a few minutes later. The Tigers ended the scoring when Endres caught his fourth touchdown pass of the day, this one a 22-yard pass from Bane.
Endres, a junior from Ethan, S.D., ran for 186 yards on 29 attempts and also caught 11 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns for 301 yards of total offense. Bane continued his solid sophomore season, passing for 317 yards and six touchdowns. He was 34-for-45 with no interceptions. Also for the Tigers, Muilenburg caught 11 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown and Nate Ovenden caught a touchdown pass.
At halftime, the total offensive stats were fairly even for each team, but Dakota Wesleyan pulled away in the second half and was able to stop the Chargers. The Tigers finished with 532 yards of total offense to BCU's 299. DWU ran for 215 yards and threw for 317 more. Briar Cliff finished with 110 yards on the ground and 189 more through the air.
The offensive line was solid again Saturday, and didn't allow a single sack. Defensively, Dustin Bergmeier and Jesse Holz led the Tigers with 4.5 tackles each. Bergmeier also had one tackle for a loss. Jeff Maassen had 4.5 takcles and a sack, and Mike Barnaud had three tackles and a sack for a loss of nine yards. Brandon Bilyeu had a fumble recovery and Tom Jarding blocked a punt.
The Tigers have the week off, and return to action for their annual Blue and White Days game against Hastings College on Saturday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. at Joe Quintal Field.