Football hosts Briar Cliff Saturday for senior day

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University football team welcomes Briar Cliff University on Saturday at 1 p.m. as it will celebrate senior day festivities at Joe Quintal Field. DWU aims to extend its three-game winning streak over BCU in Mitchell.

 Eyes of the Tigers

 With just three games remaining on the 2020 schedule, the Tigers sit with an overall record of 1-5 including a 56-21 road loss a week ago to Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. Despite the final score, Dakota Wesleyan provided plenty of excitement both offensively and defensively.

 Quarterback Zachary Lester (Fairbanks, Alaska) fueled the offense completing 29 passes for 305 yards and two scores including 10 completions to senior wideout Spencer Neugebauer (Mitchell, S.D.) The performance not only gave the senior signal caller his second career 300-yard passing game, but also helped him surpass 2,000 yards through the air.

 Lester sits with 2,297 career passing yards while completing 56.3 percent of his passes for 17 touchdowns. The Alaska native is ranked nationally in five offensive categories including 11^th in total passing as he has accumulated 1,063 yards through the air giving him back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

 On the defensive front, Dakota Wesleyan held its own once again in the turnover battle despite surrendering 56 points. The Tiger defense forced three fumbles while junior safety Nate Rupprecht (Bennington, Neb.) notched his second interception of the season, returning it 42 yards for a touchdown.

 As a unit, the DWU defense has forced 12 turnovers including eight interceptions and four fumbles nearly matching last season's total of 15 forced turnovers. Five different Tigers have recorded an interception including junior defensive back Jacob Zamora (Sylmar, Calif.) who leads the team with three.

 Beyond the Stripes

 Dakota Wesleyan leads 11-6 in the all-time series despite suffering back-to-back road losses to the Chargers. In week three of the 2019 campaign the Tigers were silenced 47-0 in Sioux City, Iowa to begin conference play.

 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. He currently boasts an overall record of 50-43 while becoming just the second coach in program history to amass 50-career victories. Lastly, Cimpl holds a 6-2 edge against Briar Cliff outscoring the Chargers 292–171 including three-straight victories at Joe Quintal Field.

 The opposing sideline will feature head coach Dennis Wagner who enters his fourth season with the Chargers after taking the reins in 2017. With previous position stints at Fresno State and Liberty University, Wagner led Briar Cliff to its first winning season in school history during the 2018 campaign.

 Stocking the Hunt

 BCU enters the week seven matchup with a 1-4 overall record thanks to a 27-18 victory over Hastings College last Saturday in Hastings, Neb.

 Through five games this season, the Charger's offensive unit has seen both John Bell and Cayden Mitchell call plays from the huddle. Bell, the San Jose native, leads BCU with 503 total yards of offense including 455 yards through the air. Freshman Mar'Kaybion Wallace has been an offensive catalyst as well for the Chargers splitting reps at running back, receiver and kick returner.

 On the other side of the ball, the BCU defensive unit has recorded 35 tackles for loss and 16 sacks highlighted by an experienced and talented front seven. The defensive duo of MJ Montgomery and Robert Robinson have combined for a staggering 62 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks through five games.