No. 21 Tigers Stand Tall after Test from Chargers
MITCHELL, S.D. – For the second straight week, the No. 21 Dakota Wesleyan University football team found itself in a tight game at home in the fourth quarter. But the Tigers came through in the clutch again, this time holding off a rally from Briar Cliff University Saturday, Sept. 13 at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell, S.D.
MITCHELL, S.D. – For the second straight week, the No. 21 Dakota Wesleyan University football team found itself in a tight game at home in the fourth quarter. But the Tigers came through in the clutch again, this time holding off a rally from Briar Cliff University Saturday, Sept. 13 at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell, S.D.
DWU (2-0, 1-0 GPAC) topped BCU 27-16 (0-2, 0-1 GPAC) in the Great Plains Athletic Conference opener for both schools. The Tigers led by 14 mid way through the third quarter, but the Chargers fought back with 10 unanswered points to cut the DWU lead to 20-16 with just over 13 minutes left in the game. The DWU defense tightened and the offense rode the legs of running back Francois Barnaud to the win.
The Chargers took control of the football after an interception and moved into DWU territory down four with less than 10 minutes left. After an injury to starting linebacker Jeff Maassen, DWU freshman Clark Butler (Discovery Bay, Calif.) entered the game. Butler forced a fumble on the next play, which was recovered by teammate Adam Bormann, a sophomore linebacker from Stickney, S.D.
The Tigers forced a three and out on the next Charger possession before Barnaud (Belle Fourche, S.D.) found the end zone from nine yards out for his second score in the contest with 1:36 remaining to play.
Another defensive stand gave DWU the opportunity to kneel on the ball to end the game in front of the home fans for the second week in a row.
Barnaud shouldered the load for the Tigers on offense finishing with 34 carries for 160 yards and two touchdowns. He scored on an eight-yard run in the third quarter to go along with his late score in the fourth.
Freshman Dillon Turner (Salem, Ark.) started for the first time at quarterback as a Tiger. He finished with 179 yards on 19-of-31 passing and threw two interceptions. Turner added 19 carries for 31 yards and a first-quarter 11-yard touchdown run to get DWU on the board. He was also sacked five times in the game.
With the Tiger offense stifled in the second quarter, the defense took over with some help on the scoreboard. Senior linebacker Anthony Cervantes (Burbank, Calif.) picked off a pass from BCU quarterback Kevin Van Egdom and returned it 77 yards for a score. The Tigers got another big interception return in the third quarter, with junior Tanner Munk (Dell Rapids, S.D.) picking off a Van Egdom throw and taking it back the BCU 8-yard line to set up the first touchdown run by Barnaud.
Cervantes added eight tackles for the DWU defense, while Maassen (Brandon, S.D.) led the Tigers with nine. Sophomore Cohl Ratermann (Colome, S.D.) racked up his first sack of the season and junior linebacker Brady Bonte (Garretson, S.D.) added four tackles and three pass break ups.
The Chargers relied on the passing game throughout the contest against DWU, with Van Egdom (Liberty, Mo.) putting the ball in the air 47 times. He completed 19 passes for 340 yards and two scores. Two BCU receivers went over 100 yards receiving led by Bret Van Muyden with eight catches for 129 yards. Lavon Wright added four catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns. The BCU ground game was led by Mitch Heikes with 23 carries for 93 yards.
Derek White and Kenny Hanes each racked up a game-high 11 tackles for BCU, while Steve Trujillio and Hoy Thompson both came away with an interception. The Chargers defense found their way into the Tiger backfield for five sacks, including two from Tyler Dean and 1.5 from Marshall Ellis.
The Tigers remain at home for another GPAC contest against No. 13 Northwestern College at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell. The game will be the annual "Blue and White Days" (Homecoming) for DWU.