Offensive explosion lifts DWU to win in GPAC opener

VERMILLION, S.D. – There was very little the Dakota Wesleyan University football team could do wrong in the first half of its Great Plains Athletic Conference opening game against Briar Cliff University Saturday at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D.

DWU stormed out to 42-0 halftime lead over the Chargers and cruised to a 55-14 win to move to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the GPAC. The 55 points scored is the most by a Tiger team since the last time DWU visited the Dome back in 2013, when it won 56-15. The Tigers are 3-0 for the first time since 2012.

"Our guys get excited to play in the Dome," DWU Head Coach Ross Cimpl said. "We are getting better every week and that is fortunate. Hopefully that continues."

The Tigers started running downhill from the first play of the game. On the opening kickoff, sophomore Charlie LaRoche (Lower Brule, S.D.) forced a fumble that was picked up by sophomore Turner Serr (Burke, S.D.). DWU took the possession into the end zone with sophomore John Fabrizius (Casper, Wyo.) rushing one in from two yards out.

The Chargers went three-and-out to give possession back to the Tigers. DWU marched 78 yards in seven plays, mostly on the ground. Sophomore quarterback Dillon Turner (Salem, Ark.) capped the drive with the first of his three rushing touchdowns to put the Tigers up 14-0.

The Tigers continued to pull away from the Chargers on their next possession when sophomore wide receiver Hayden Adams (Villa Park, Ill.) caught a Turner pass and took it 82 yards for a score. One week after putting up 110 yards receiving, Adams shined again, catching seven passes for 209 yards and a score. He has a touchdown reception in each of the first three games for DWU.

"Hayden is not a secret anymore," Cimpl said. "He flew under the radar the first couple of games. Now he is doing the things we see him doing all of the time in practice."

The Tigers added three more first-half touchdowns, with Fabrbius and Turner each running in another, while junior wide receiver Dustin Livingston caught 10-yard touchdown with five seconds to play before halftime.

The second half started much same as the first went with Turner scoring one more time with his legs. He closed out a nine-play, 76-yard drive with a 10-yard score midway through the third. Turner finished the game with 317 yards on 17-of-28 passing, two touchdowns and one interception. Turner continued to be a threat on the ground with 19 carries for 122 yards and three scores with a long run of 40 yards.

"We are starting to realize that we have some perimeter weapons where teams can't load the box on us and that we are able to throw the ball," Cimpl said. "It validates why our guys have been working so hard."

The Tigers broke a streak they would like to forget late in the third quarter when senior kicker Daniel Porter hit a 37-yard field goal. The make was the first for the Tigers since 2013. Porter kept it going less than three minutes later with his second field goal coming from 38 yards out to put DWU up 55-0. Porter also made all seven of his PAT attempts.

The Chargers added a pair of touchdowns but it barely made a dent in the DWU advantage.

Fabrizius went over 100 yards for the first time in his Tiger career. He finished with 27 carries for 120 yards and two scores after being bottled up by Ottawa University last week. Fabrizius added two catches for 42 yards. The Tigers finished with 295 yards on the ground as a team.

"I don't know if we did anything really differently in terms of our game plan in the run game, but I just think our guys are getting more comfortable in the offense," Cimpl said.

DWU outgained BCU 612 to 208 and was 16-of-23 on third down. The Tigers ran 96 plays on offense to 56 by the Chargers.

The defense bottled up BCU all afternoon, with junior linebacker Adam Bormann (Stickney, S.D.) finishing with a team-high seven tackles. Junior defensive end Brady Mudder (Garretson, S.D.) was a force in the Charger backfield, picking up two sacks and three tackles for loss. Junior Cody Reder (Philip, S.D.) and freshman Bailey Schreiver (Harrisburg, S.D.) each picked off a pass.

BCU was held to 133 yards through the air on 18-of-36 passing by quarterback Jayden Swensen and Matthew Quick. Swensen was the team's leading rusher with 14 carries for 44 yards.

The Tigers play their fourth road game in a row against Midland University at 1 p.m. Saturday in Fremont, Neb.