SEWARD, Neb. — Dakota Wesleyan University Football headed down to Nebraska to square off against the NAIA's 21st-ranked team, the Concordia Bulldogs.
The Tigers and Bulldogs would trade punts for each team's first two drives as the game began, with both squads needing time to settle in. Towards the end of the first quarter, Concordia would strike first with a 19-yard touchdown pass to get on the board first, with the 7-0 scoreline remaining through the end of the quarter. Defensively, the Tigers were led by Grayson Hanson, who would record 10 total tackles and two tackles-for-loss, while Trevor Sladky would lead the defensive backs with eight tackles and a tackle-for-loss of his own. Even with the team's well-rounded defensive effort, the Tigers would struggle to keep the ball in their own possession for long periods of time in the first half, leading to the Bulldogs taking advantage of the game's pace to go up 14-0 early in the second quarter. Dakota Wesleyan would find an answer offensively, stringing together a 13-play, 57-yard drive that would result in a successful 36-yard field goal attempt from Danny Carsrud to bring the score to 14-3. The Tigers would find their next surge defensively, with Mikey Hart intercepting a pass from the Bulldogs that would result in a 74-yard pick-six for the Tigers to bring the score to 14-9 following the missed extra point attempt. Neither team would score before the half, and the Tigers would head to the locker room just five points down to the 21st-ranked Bulldogs.
Both offenses would begin to trade scoring drives in the second half, with Dakota Wesleyan's pass attack coming to life. A big 72-yard touchdown to open the half from the Bulldogs would be answered by a touchdown pass to Cole Holden, who would go on to have 119 yards receiving throughout the game. A quickly forced three-and-out would give the Tigers the ball back, and Dakota Wesleyan would find a lead following a five-yard touchdown pass to Chase McGillivary to cap off a 10-play, 66-yard drive. The score would be 22-21 in favor of DWU with just three minutes left in the third quarter following the touchdown. The pass would be Jed Jenson's second touchdown pass of the day, with the quarterback having his best performance of the season and finishing with 253 yards passing and 22 completions on 45 attempts. Concordia would claw back into the lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a converted 41-yard field goal attempt to bring the score to 24-22, and would extend its lead to 27-22 with just six minutes left in the contest following a Dakota Wesleyan red zone stand. The Tigers would stall out on the following drive, but good clock management and defensive scheming would give the Tigers the ball back with just under two minutes left to play. Dakota Wesleyan would convert two third downs to get the ball across midfield, but with just under a minute left to play, a Concordia interception would seal the game, with the Tigers falling, 27-22. Jenson and Koby Kayser would highlight DWU's rushing attack, combining for 105 yards on the ground.
DWU Football will be back in action against the Northwestern Red Raiders at Joe Quintal Field on Saturday, September 20th, at 1:00 PM. See the entire 2025 schedule here.