Grateful for their Opportunity: Tigers welcome challenging season ahead

MITCHELL, S.D. – With teams canceling and postponing seasons all around the country at all levels, one word could be used to describe how the Dakota Wesleyan University football team is feeling this fall; grateful. The anticipation is building for what awaits the Tigers throughout their 2020 campaign as more eyes turn towards them as one of the few programs in the nation to still play football this fall.

 With new stipulations to the preseason and less time on the field together, head football coach Ross Cimpl knows it is important to make every snap count. He says being efficient and making the most of their opportunities is what is going to be key.

 "We have to be efficient in order to be successful," Cimpl said. "We have a shortened amount of time to practice and prepare so everything we are doing has to be even more efficient than the past few years. We need to take advantage of our opportunities and we also need to redeem ourselves when we have an opportunity to fix a mistake that we made in previous practices."

 Learning from their mistakes must happen quicker, but DWU returns an impressive group of veterans to both sides of the ball to make that transition quicker and easier. Leading the skills players on offense include the All-GPAC duo of Spencer Neugebauer (Mitchell, S.D.) and Daniel Libolt (Chambers, Neb.). Each have been tabbed to the All-GPAC Team three times throughout their careers, once for special teams and twice as a receiver.

 The pair led the Tiger offense in 2019 with a combined 71 receptions for 849 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Neugebauer was a force on special teams as he ranked second in the NAIA with 713 kick return yards and was 14^th nationally, averaging 25.5 kick return yards per return.

 Other leaders on the offense that Cimpl will rely on include Preston Emerson (Lakeville, Minn.), TJ Benton (Spokane, Wash.), Dawson Kerzman (Dell Rapids, S.D.) and Dayne Clark (Merritt Island, Fla.). Emerson saw action in 10 games and snagged 14 catches for 127 yards. Benton and Kerzman look to anchor the frontline for the Tigers after neither player missed more than three games last year, while Clark moves to the offensive line from the defense for his final season.

 The Tigers will once again rely on their linebacking corps to pace the defense with a trio of experienced athletes in Cody Reichelt (Mitchell, S.D.), Samuel Kretschmar (Huron, S.D.) and Joshua Garry (Sioux Falls, S.D.). Reichelt led the defense a season ago as he was honored to the All-GPAC Honorable Mention Team. He posted a breakout season as he led the team with 84 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, three interceptions and a fumble recovery returned for 60 yards. Garry and Kretschmar were relied upon as they tallied 41 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss together.

 Cimpl will also turn to Dominick Warmbein (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Hayden Schmidt (Plankinton, S.D.) to lead the defensive line and defensive backfield, respectively. Warmbein led all defensive linemen with 39 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2019, while Schmidt notched 16 tackles and a tackle for loss.

 While relying on his upperclassmen will be key, Cimpl also acknowledges he has an abundance of second and third-year players who saw valuable minutes that will prove beneficial come this fall.

 "We played a lot of young guys last year," Cimpl mentioned. "We are hoping many of those guys can make a bigger impact in their second or third season."

 Newcomers on the offensive front that Cimpl anticipates playing a key role include Jarien Montegomery (Kansas City, Mo.), AJ Kortemeyer (Custer, S.D.) and Trent Suckut (Bothell, Wash.). Kortemeyer completed his high-school career being a two-time All-Conference member and an Elite 45 Honorable Mention nominee. Montegomery tallied 21 pancake blocks during his conference games, while Suckut was a three-year starter.

 On defense, Jacob Zamora (Sylmar, Calif.), Kevin Riu (Moorpark, Calif.), Ethan Engen (Viborg, S.D.) and Jake Parker (Lancaster, Ohio) will be names to look for to make an immediate impact. Zamora, the 6-foot-2 defensive back, will add height to the secondary after transferring to DWU. He was named All-League First Team and won the John Elway Award during his high-school career. Riu is another transfer that will look to provide depth on the defensive line.

 Engen enters his freshman campaign following an exceptional career with Viborg-Hurley High school. He tallied 114 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, eight sacks, an interception, three blocked punts, 10 forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and five pass deflections in his senior season. Engen was also an Elite 45 Honorable Mention selection, and an All-State and All-Conference nominee.

 One change the Tigers hope to make in 2020 is finishing games that come down to a possession or two. DWU began their 2019 campaign with a 33-30 double-overtime loss to in-state rival Dakota State University. Later in the season, DWU fell on the road to Concordia University, 24-17. Despite the close losses, Cimpl and the Tigers are not letting that hinder their outlook on the new year.

 "The key for us to win those close games is going to be able to work together as a team," Cimpl mentioned. "We have to trust our defense to get a stop in a critical situation and our offense to put points on the board or extend drives to keep the clock moving. We have to complement each other better than we did at times last year."

 No matter the outcomes, the entire football staff and roster is thankful and excited to get back to playing the game they love. They will be taking it one day at a time, understanding just how important this season is.

 "The obvious thing we are excited about is still having the opportunity to play football," Cimpl commented. "We are very fortunate to be practicing and working toward competing in the best conference in the NAIA. We have a lot of new and young faces that are ready to make their mark, and we have a good group of older players that are hungry to achieve more than we have in the past two seasons."