Tigers set to take on NAIA’s best

MITCHELL, S.D. – After a 5-1 start to the 2014 season, the No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan University football team faces its toughest task of the year with a road date against the top-ranked Morningside College Mustangs at 1 p.m. Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Tigers have found a way to win in the fourth quarter this season, needing a late score or big play on defense to secure each of its five victories, including a thrilling come-from-behind stunner last week against Doane College.

The matchup of ranked Great Plains Athletic Conference teams, which has been selected as the NAIA Game of the Week, will go a long way to determining which team will stand atop the league standings at the end of the season.

If the Tigers hope to pull off the upset, they will need to slow down a Morningside offense that has been rolling since the first whistle of the season. The Mustangs rank first in the NAIA in seven offensive categories, including a nation-best 714 yards per game, including 386 per contest on the ground.

The Mustang offense is led by quarterback Ryan Kasdorf, who passed for 468 yards and six touchdowns against Hastings College last weekend. He is averaging 287.4 yards per game through the air. Morningside is two-dimensional with an explosive running game to back up its passing attack led by running back Brandon Wegher, who is leading the nation in total scoring with 15 touchdowns in five games.

DWU will need to score points to keep up with the Mustangs, who have put up at least 56 points in every game this season, with a high of 83 in week two. Scoring against Morningside has been no easy task for opponents this season. The Mustangs are holding opponents to a mere 244 yards per game.

The Tigers have shown an ability to come up with big plays when needed this season and true freshman quarterback Dillon Turner (Salem, Ark.) has shown signs of growth in through the first six games of his college career. Turner has crossed the 200-yard mark passing in each of the last three games.

After failing to find the end zone through the air in the first three games, DWU has found success scoring in the passing game in the last two weeks, with Turner completing two touchdown passes in each game. Last week's comeback win was capped by the second touchdown pass of the game from Turner to junior tight end Trevor Schroeder (Canistota, S.D.). Schroeder finished the win over Doane with DWU's first 100-yard receiving game of the season.

On defense, the Tigers have been stout against the run, ranking 11th in the nation in rushing defense at 107.7 yards per game. Junior linebacker Brady Bonte (Garretson, S.D.) leads the Tiger defense in tackles for loss with 12, while senior linebacker Jeff Maassen (Brandon, S.D.) has averaged a team-high 9.3 tackles per game.

In last year's meeting, the Tigers fell behind early to the Mustangs at home after an early injury sidelined DWU star running back Francois Barnaud (Belle Fourche, S.D.). Morningside built a 34-6 lead in the first half and went on to win 62-27. The Mustangs outgained DWU 588 to 348, while Kasdorf threw for 371 yards and six scores.

Saturday's game is just the second on the road for the Tigers in 2014, after the team started with five of six at home. DWU won its only other road contest in week four against Hastings.