Tigers drop road contest to Raiders

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Entering their second consecutive week on the road, the Dakota Wesleyan University football team battled Northwestern College in a Great Plains Athletic Conference showdown. NWC overpowered DWU in the early-season matchup, 50-16 on Saturday at Korver Field.

 After stalling on their opening drive, the Tigers (0-2, 0-2 GPAC) punted the ball to NWC. The Raiders (1-1-, 1-1- GPAC) went 39 yards in two plays, but the DWU defense did not break as they forced a field goal as NWC took a 3-0 lead early on.

 On their next drive, the Tigers drove down to the NWC 39-yard line. However, the Tigers were forced to punt after nine plays. The Raiders added their second score of the game with a 73-yard touchdown pass to make it a 10-0 score line in the first quarter.

 Up 16-0, the Raiders were looking to add another score. But, Nate Rupprecht (Bennington, Neb.) had other plans as he intercepted the Tyson Kooima pass and ran it to the DWU 39-yard line. However, the Tigers were unable to capitalize on the turnover as NWC posted two more scores to take a 29-0 lead into halftime.

 On their opening drive of the second half, Zachary Lester (Fairbanks, Alaska) found Jamin Arend (Emery, S.D.) out of the backfield for a 21-yard completion. Moments later, Lester connected with Daniel Libolt (Chambers, Neb.) for an 18-yard completion. Despite not getting into the end zone, Tate Gale (Irene, S.D.) knocked a 27-yard field goal through the uprights to put DWU on the scoreboard.

 After the Raiders tacked on another touchdown, DWU drove 40 yards in seven plays as Lester found Spencer Neugebauer (Mitchell, S.D.) for a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 36-9 in the third quarter.

 After NWC added 14 more points, the Tigers notched one final touchdown with less than 30 seconds to play as they fell 50-16.

 Leading the way defensively was Samuel Kretschmar (Huron, S.D.) with five total tackles and an interception. Rupprecht added four tackles along with his interception. Libolt recorded 53 yards on five catches, as Neugebauer finished with 52 yards on eight receptions and a touchdown. The Tigers finished with 305 total yards, as they totaled 196 passing yards and 109 rushing yards.

 DWU comes home for the first time this season for Blue and White Days as they host Dordt University at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Joe Quintal Field.