Tigers look to regroup Saturday in hostile territory

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University football team will hit the road for the second-straight week looking to knock off Northwestern College at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Orange City, Iowa. Each team will be equally motivated, as both enter the contest seeking their first win of the year.

Eyes of the Tigers

Last week, the Tigers faltered 45-7 in their 2020 season opener against Hastings College. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Blue and Gray went right to work as Zachary Lester (Fairbanks, Alaska) connected with Jamin Arend (Emery, S.D.) for a 35-yard completion. Though, the Tiger offense later sputtered at the Hasting's 23-yard line after going for it on fourth down.

Seizing the momentum, the Hasting's offense pieced together a prompt drive on the ensuing possession as they used 11 plays to march 73 yards notching the first points of the contest.

The remainder of the opening quarter saw both offenses stall as neither team generated any points. However, on the opening drive of the second period, the Tiger offense secured the first touchdown of the season off a 60-yard completion from Lester to Chance Sorensen (Rapid City, S.D.). to knot the score at 7-7.

Unable to keep up the pace, Dakota Wesleyan surrendered 21 straight points to close out the first-half score 28-7. The Tigers ultimately faltered in a 45-7 defeat despite finishing hard until the end.

The Dakota Wesleyan offense was paced by Lester who finished with 192 yards on 13 completions and one touchdown, while Arend recorded 43 rushing yards and 34 receiving yards. Sorensen led the receivers with 85 yards on five receptions and one touchdown. Defensively, the Tigers were guided by Samuel Kretschmar (Huron, S.D.) as he notched eight tackles and a tackle for loss, while Hayden Schmidt (Plankinton, S.D) recorded seven tackles. The Tigers finished with 251 yards of offense, including 192 yards through the air and 59 on the ground.

Beyond the Stripes

Northwestern College currently holds the edge over Dakota Wesleyan in the all-time series 16-4, including seven of the last nine matchups. However, under the direction of Coach Cimpl, the Tigers defeated Northwestern in back-to-back seasons from 2015 to 2016 by a final of 27-17 and 44-27, respectively.

In week four of 2019, Dakota Wesleyan hosted the 10^th-ranked Raiders seeking their first conference victory of the year. The Tiger offense responded to a Northwestern opening touchdown with a 79-yard screen pass to even the score at seven. From that point in the contest, the Blue and Gray were held in-check faltering in a 52-7 final.

Keeping it Cimpl

Coach Ross Cimpl enters his ninth season at the helm for the Tigers where he currently resides as the second winningest coach all-time at Dakota Wesleyan and is seeking his 50^th-career victory. He boasts an overall record of 49-39 with his best campaigns coming in 2015 and 2016 when he led the Tigers to 9-2 and 8-3 finishes, respectively. Lastly, Cimpl holds a 21-22 record as the visiting coach including an impressive mark of 11-1 on the road from 2015 to 2016.

The opposing sideline will feature head coach Matt McCarty who enters his fourth season at Northwestern, after securing the position in December of 2015. McCarty currently holds a 31-14 overall record, including three-straight NAIA FCS Playoff appearances.

Stocking the Hunt

Northwestern College ended the 2019 season boasting a 9-2 overall record and an 8-1 conference record. The Raiders culminated last year's campaign with an opening-round loss in the 2019 NAIA FCS Playoffs. After producing 13 All-GPAC players a season ago, the Raiders return a plethora of talent across the board.

Senior quarterback Tyson Kooima enters his fourth season as a staple of the Raider offense. The 2019 GPAC Offensive-Player-of-the-Year completed 61.8% of his passes last week for 447 yards and one touchdown in a season-opening loss to Morningside College a week ago. The Hull, Iowa, native has played in a total of 35 games throughout his career, so look for the Tiger defense to intensify the pressure on Saturday.

On the opposite side of the ball, Northwestern returns a wealth of experience as well including six starters from a season ago. One name to keep a tab on is defensive-lineman T.J. Jones who was a 2019 All-GPAC Honorable Mention selection. While the junior was held in-check last week, he has notched 46 tackles during his first two campaigns with the Raiders.