The Dakota Wesleyan University football team used a stellar defensive effort, a rejuvenated running game and a clutch kick to upset 18th-ranked Northwestern College 13-10 in Saturday's Great Plains Athletic Conference game at Joe Quintal Field.
The Tigers (3-6) held the Red Raiders (7-3) to just 10 points and 287 yards of total offense and they pitched a second-half shutout to put themselves in position to pull off the upset. Joel Kruse nailed a 36-yard field goal with 9:45 to play to put DWU ahead for good, and Raymond "Boogie" Blossom ran for 120 yards on 19 carries to propel the Tigers to victory.
After losing the first eight head-to-head meetings, the Tigers have now knocked off Northwestern two times in a row, including last season when the Red Raiders were ranked 12th in the country.
Northwestern opened the game with an impressive drive to take an early 7-0 lead. The Red Raiders elected to receive the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in 15 plays, ending with a plunge into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the one by Kevin Vander Schaff. On the drive, Northwestern converted three third downs and a fourth down and took 8:14 off the clock.
However, Dakota Wesleyan answered with a 10-play, 47-yard drive that featured a heavy dose of Blossom and ended with a 23-yard Nick Garcia field goal to make it 7-3. DWU safety Jordan Gau intercepted Red Raider quarterback Brad Payne on the ensuing drive, and Jon Doom hit Jesse Ayers for a 31-yard gain to get the Tigers in the red zone. Ayers added 11 yards on an end-around and Josh Endres capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to put DWU ahead 10-7.
Dakota Wesleyan tried to extend the lead just before halftime after Blossom broke off a 52-yard run and Doom hit Gillen for 18 yards to reach the Northwestern 19-yard line. However, Doom's next pass was picked off by the Red Raiders, and Payne drove his team into field goal range, where kicker Ben Rasefske nailed a 25-yard kick to tie the game 10-10 with just six seconds left in the half.
After a scoreless third quarter, it appeared DWU would re-take the lead when Chris Butler fumbled a punt and Justin Guzman recovered for the Tigers at the Northwestern 13-yard line. However, Endres fumbled on the very next play and the Red Raiders recovered to keep it a tie game.
After a Northwestern first down, the Tiger defense got tough and forced a three-and-out. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Doom hit tight end Kyle Isaacson over the middle for a 26-yard gain. After three runs by Blossom, DWU faced a fourth-and-one from Northwestern's 19-yard line. Head coach Brad Pole opted for the field goal, and chose to send in Kruse instead of Garcia. Kruse's kick was straight down the middle and had more than enough distance to give the Tigers their 13-10 lead.
From there, the defense forced a three-and-out, and after a Tiger punt, the Red Raiders drove down to the nine-yard line. However, the DWU defense stepped up again with another stop, and Rasefske's attempt to tie the game from 26 yards was wide left with 1:53 left to play. From there, Endres ran for a pair of first downs and the Tigers killed the clock to preserve the thrilling upset.
Blossom's 120 yards keyed the Tiger offense in the win, and Endres added 46 yards on 10 carries with the team's only touchdown. Doom was 14-for-22 for 167 yards with an interception and Ayers led DWU with four catches and 76 points. Bubba Slaba added four catches for 26 yards, and he is just two catches away from 200 for his career.
The Dakota Wesleyan defense gets tons of credit for the upset with its best performance of the season, and the Tigers delivered a total team effort. Jim Williams had 10 total tackles with five solo and 10 assists. Gau had 9.5 tackles (eight solo), an interception and a pass breakup and Lucas Sieve added eight tackles (five solo). Jesse Holz had two pass breakups and a tackle-for-a-loss and Devin Nagata added a sack.
The Tiger special teams were also solid. Derek Carlson had another good day punting with an average of 41.5 yards per punt and two of his four kicks were downed inside the 20. Chet McManus had a 24-yard kick return to set up DWU's first field goal, and Kruse and Garcia each connected on big kicks.
DWU did a great job on Northwestern running back Taylor Malm, who came into the game as the GPAC's third-leading rusher. Malm finished with just 60 yards on 19 carries. Vander Schaff had 58 yards a touchdown on 13 carries. Payne was 11-for-21 passing for 129 yards and an interception and Reed Van Hulzen led the Red Raiders with three catches for 34 yards.
Grant Hegstad led the Northwestern defense with 7.5 tackles (five solo) with 2.0 tackles-for-a-loss. Austin Rozeboom added seven tackles (five solo), a forced fumble and an interception and Caleb Van Otterloo had six tackles (five solo) and two pass breakups.
It was fitting the Tigers' best performance of the season came on Parent's Day and Senior Day. All the DWU football parents in attendance were honored on the field prior to the game, as were the Tiger seniors who were playing their final home game. Though the 2009 season hasn't gone as planned, the Dakota Wesleyan players will always be able to look back fondly on this memorable win.
GPAC Football Scores- Week #10
Morningside College 45, Briar Cliff University 17
University of Sioux Falls 58, Dordt College 0
Dakota Wesleyan University 13, Northwestern College 10
Doane College 38, Nebraska Wesleyan University 17
Midland Lutheran College 27, Dana College 14
Hastings College 28, Concordia University 18
GPAC Football Stats - Updated!
