Tiger football drops conference opener to No. 2 Mustangs

MITCHELL, S.D. – It was a Great Plains Athletic Conference opener at Joe Quintal Field as the Dakota Wesleyan University football team took on No. 2 Morningside College. DWU held strong early but dropped the conference matchup, 66-13 Saturday in Mitchell.

 The Mustangs (3-0, 1-0 GPAC) took their opening drive down the field and punched the ball into the endzone to take a 7-0 lead. On the opening drive for the Tigers (1-2, 0-1 GPAC), they were forced to punt. However, the DWU defense stifled Morningside on the next possession to get the ball back for the offense.

 After being forced to punt the ball, the Tigers were unable to keep the Mustangs out of the endzone as Morningside took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

 DWU drove the length of the field thanks to precision passing by Shaye Slaughter (Harrisburg, S.D.). Tate Gale (Irene, S.D.) nailed a 39-yard field goal to cap off the drive to get the Tigers on the scoreboard, 14-3.

 Morningside answered with a touchdown a few minutes later to make it a 21-3 game in the favor of the Mustangs. But, DWU found the end zone on its' next possession as Slaughter connected with Daniel Libolt (Chambers, Neb.) on a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it a 21-10 game.

 The Mustangs built on their lead throughout the second quarter as they put up 24 points, taking a 45-10 lead at halftime.

 In the second half, DWU struggled to find the end zone again as the only points they put up was a 32-yard field goal by Gale. Morningside added 21 points in the second half as they downed the Tigers at Joe Quintal Field.

 Slaughter finished the game 18-of-41 passing for 224 yards and a touchdown, while Libolt snagged eight catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. Spencer Neugebauer (Mitchell, S.D.) added three catches for 54 yards, as Luke Loudenburg tallied 20 yards on 18 carries.

 Eathen Gaulke (Kimball, S.D.) led the defense with eight tackles, while Cody Reichelt (Mitchell, S.D.) and Tyrel Haley (Winner, S.D.) finished with seven tackles. Trey DeCroock (Sioux Falls, S.D.) notched four tackles and an interception, as Dillon Rork (Grand Island, Neb.) recorded four tackles and a sack.

 The Tigers take on No. 5 Northwestern College in a GPAC showdown at 7 p.m. Saturday at Joe Quintal Field.