Hastings, Neb. – Dakota Wesleyan football drops road matchup against Hastings College by a score of 32-13. Tigers would be outscored 16-0 in the first quarter. The other three quarters would have the Broncos slightly outscore the Tigers 16-13 proving the first quarter to be the decider. DWU drops to 0-5 (0-4 in the GPAC) and the Broncos improve to 4-1 (3-1 in the GPAC). Kiel Nelson was the Tiger standout with six catches for a career-high 142 yards and a touchdown.
Quick Stats:
Offense –
- Connor Drake – (20-37) 284 yards 1 TD 2 INT
- Jamin Arend – 19 rushes 71 yards 1 TD - seven catches 52 yards
- Kiel Nelson – six catches 142 yards 1 TD
Defense –
- Brendan Kennedy – nine total tackles 0.5 TFL
- Caleb Maciejewski – nine total tackles 2.5 TFL
- Adam DeJong – three total tackles one INT
Recap:
Hastings college came out from the start looking to go deep on the Tigers secondary and connected on two passes over 25 yards with the 28-yard strike giving them the early 7-0 lead with 1:08 off the clock. Tigers would go three and out and be forced to punt, but a bad snap would send Nelson back to the endzone when he smartly kicked the ball out the back for a safety, saving the touchdown. Score would sit 9-0 early in the first.
DWU would start to get the offense going in their second drive but face a fourth and nine at the Hastings 29 and couldn't convert the pass attempt. The drive would go for nine plays, 67 yards and highlighted with a Drake and Preston Nedved 30-yard connection on a third and eight. After taking over on the downs the Broncos would drive and put another score on the board increasing their lead to 16-0 with 4:08 in the first.
Dakota Wesleyan would be forced to punt on their next two drives, but also force a Hastings punt in between the drives keeping the score at 16-0 with 14:55 in the second quarter. The Broncos would find the endzone again pushing the score to 23-0 with 10:36 left in the first half. Tigers would find their groove again on offense moving the ball with big chunk yardage runs from Arend and Garrett Mandolfo getting them in the redzone. DWU would stall out there and face a fourth and seven and decide to attempt a 35-yard field goal that came up short leaving it a 23-0 score with 4:27 left.
Maciejewski would come up with a tackle for a loss on the first play of the Bronco drive and force them to punt after a pair of incomplete passes. Tigers would once again move the ball down the field by leaning on Arend and Mandolfo both on the ground and through the air getting the Tigers in the redzone. DWU would get on the board when Drake connected with Nelson from 11 yards out closing the gap to 23-7 right before half.
With 7:00 left in the third quarter the Broncos would face third and eight at the DWU 37 when DeJong would come up with the clutch interception and return it 20 yards to give the Tigers offense the ball back. Tigers would hand it right back with an interception of their own with 5:46 left in the third. Broncos would take advantage with a marathon 16 play drive that would end in a 27-yard field goal. Tiger defense would bend but not break during the drive limiting the damage to make it 26-7 with 14:04 left in the game.
Offense would get in the endzone with an eight play, 75 yard, 3:41 drive that was capped off on a Arend touchdown rush from two yards out but was setup with a Drake/Nelson connection good for 61 yards. Score would sit 26-13 with 10:22 left. Broncos would be forced to punt on their ensuing drive with 7:22 left in the game. Jaiden Walton would come up with a big tackle for a loss during the drive to stall the Broncos out.
Drake would connect with four different receivers in the ensuing drive and move the ball down to the DWU 42 but face a fourth and ten. Drake's pass would be intercepted on the play giving the Broncos the ball back with 4:47 left. Hastings would add another score for a 32-13 final.
Head-to-Head (Hastings College)
- DWU is 7-3 in the last 10 matchups against HC
- The Tigers are outscoring the Broncos 265-240 during that span
Up Next
- Dakota Wesleyan football returns to Joe Quintal Field for their homecoming game against Concordia University, Neb. Saturday, October 1st at 1:00 p.m.