MITCHELL, S.D. – Despite an opening drive that saw a 79-yard touchdown pass, the Dakota Wesleyan University football team was unable to keep up with No. 10 Northwestern College in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup as DWU fell, 52-7 Saturday at Joe Quintal Field.
NWC returned the opening kickoff 65 yards to the DWU 35 yard line. The Red Raiders (3-0, 2-0 GPAC) took advantage of their positive field position as they went four plays for a touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead.
The Tigers (1-3, 0-2 GPAC) did not take long to respond as Kiel Nelson (Mitchell, S.D.) dished the ball to TreVyon McDaniel (Lakewood, Wash.) on a screen pass that broke open for a 79-yard touchdown pass to tie the game in the opening moments.
On the following Red Raider possession, they marched the ball all the way down to the DWU one yard line. But on the very next play, Brandon Slama (Chaska, Minn.) and Emmanuel Christopher (Sioux Falls, S.D.) stopped Tyson Kooima for a 13-yard loss. NWC was forced to kick a 31-yard field goal after the DWU defense held strong at the goal line.
The Tigers were unable to find answers through the remainder of the opening half as they trailed 31-7 at intermission following a pair of NWC touchdowns in the second stanza.
With the score still at 31-7 late in the third quarter, the Tigers blocked a Red Raider punt that was recovered at the NWC eight yard line. Despite the advantageous field position, DWU could not punch the ball into the end zone after being stopped at the goal line.
The Red Raiders tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to defeat DWU at Joe Quintal Field for a second-consecutive season.
Nelson finished 9-of-21 passing for 206 yards through the air and a touchdown, while McDaniel rushed for 46 yards on 15 carries and added 90 receiving yards on two catches for a touchdown. Spencer Neugebauer (Mitchell, S.D.) and Garrett Determan (Watertown, S.D.) snagged three catches for 53 yards.
Eathen Gaulke (Kimball, S.D.) tallied nine tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss, as Jackson Diede (Menno, S.D.) notched eight tackles and a pass breakup. The defense finished with 66 tackles, three tackles for loss and three pass breakups.
DWU takes to the road to battle Dordt University at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Sioux Center, Iowa.
