Tigers close season with win on snowy Senior Day

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University football team may not be ending the 2014 season the way it had hoped, but the Tigers went out on a positive note with a 40-14 win over Great Plains Athletic Conference foe Dordt College on a snowy day at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell, S.D.

Seven Tiger seniors said goodbye to DWU football with a strong performance despite the weather conditions, including one last stellar performance by senior running back Francois Barnaud (Belle Fourche, S.D.). After climbing to the top of the DWU career rushing charts last week, Barnaud added to his remarkable career as a Tiger.

Barnaud topped off his Tiger career with 23 carries for 216 yards, averaging 9.4 yards per carry with a long of 69 yards. He found the end zone twice, including a one-yard run in the first quarter. Barnaud closed the game with a 13-yard run, the 34^th and final of his career. After scoring the last touchdown, Barnaud and his teammates leaped into a pile of snow near the end zone with his teammates.

The ball was kept on the ground for the majority of the game by both teams with the snow playing a factor. DWU true freshman quarterback Dillon Turner (Salem, Ark.) made the most of his nine pass attempts. Turner completed five passes for 11 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Hayden Adams (Villa Park, Ill.) caught two touchdown passes on similar play-action calls in the first half.

Sophomore wide receiver Dustin Livingston (Irene, S.D.) also found the end zone twice for the Tigers. Livingston returned a punt 70 yards early in the third quarter and caught a 40-yard pass from Turner for a score in the fourth.

After the Tigers went up 27-0 in the third quarter, Dordt rallied to score 14 straight points on the strength of running back Lenard Manuel, who finished with 22 carries for 117 yards. The Defenders also got 24 carries and 84 yards from Daniel Fennig. Dordt quarterback Taylan Seaman threw just two passes, both incomplete.

Four Tigers finished with double-digit tackles, led by senior linebacker Anthony Cervantes (Burbank, Calif.) with 12 tackles, including five for a loss. Sophomore Adam Bormann (Corsica, S.D.), junior Brady Bonte (Garretson, S.D.) and sophomore Brady Mudder (Garretson, S.D.) each finished the final game of the season with 11 tackles.

The Tigers finished with 367 yards of total offense, while holding Dordt to 264, all on the ground.

DWU closes the 2014 season 7-4 overall and 5-4 in the GPAC, giving the seven-member senior class four straight winning seasons. The 2014 seniors tied the class of 1994 for the most wins by one group with 27. Dordt finishes 2014 with a record of 2-9 overall and 1-8 in the GPAC.