FREMONT, Neb. – No. 13-ranked Dordt University defeated Midland University 38-20 in Great Plains Athletics Conference (GPAC) play on Saturday afternoon at Heedum Field. The Defenders held the Warriors to negative-three yards rushing on 16 attempts and controlled the time of possession in the conference opener for both teams.
Dordt took the opening kickoff and marched 79 yards on six plays, scoring on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Looker from Kolson Kruse. Stephen Leinen’s point-after-kick put the Defenders ahead 7-0 early in the contest.
Midland’s opening drive stalled after five plays and it was forced to punt, giving Dordt the ball at their 21-yard line. The Defenders put together an efficient drive that consumed the remaining 7:47 of the first quarter. On the second play of the second quarter, Kruse connected with Eliot Beal on a 17-yard touchdown pass, capping a 15-play drive. Leinen’s point after made it 14-0, with 14:48 remaining in the half.
The Warriors got the ball back and ran six plays but were once again forced to punt. Zach Hodge‘s 34-yard punt was downed at the one-yard line, setting up a long field for the Defenders. Dordt put together an efficient drive but was forced to punt after eight plays. Blade Koons’ 37-yard punt took Midland down to its own five-yard line, where they’d start their third drive of the game.
The Warriors’ offense continued to struggle, running just three plays before Hodge came on to punt again. His punt was fair caught by the Defenders at the MU 41-yard line, setting up a short field for Dordt. The Defenders took advantage, and two plays into the drive, Beal caught his second touchdown pass on a 31-yard halfback throw from Nick Wellen. The Leinen point-after made it 17-0, with 4:19 remaining in the half.
Midland’s offense finally got going on the next drive as Teryn Berry engineered a nine-play 79-yard drive that culminated in a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tim Brown. Cameron Spicer‘s point-after made it 17-7, Dordt, with 1:00 left in the half.
The Defenders did rest its offense before halftime, however. Kruse completed three passes on the drive and Leinen kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired, giving Dordt a 24-7 lead at halftime.
Midland received the ball to begin the second half. However, the Warriors were only able to run five plays before punting the ball. Dordt took over the ball at its 18-yard line and took control of the game on its first possession of the second half. They put together a 15-play scoring drive as Kruse rushed the ball into the endzone from 12 yards out. Leinen’s extra point put them ahead 31-7 with 3:29 left in the third quarter.
The Defender defense played inspired and held Midland to a three-and-out on the next drive. After another punt from Hodge, Dordt took over the ball at their own 30-yard line. The Defenders put the game out of reach with its third scoring drive of double-digit plays. An 11-play march ended with Brendan Pieper rushing the ball into the endzone from a yard out. Leinen’s point-after made it 38-7, with 9:36 to play.
Down but not out, Midland showed some life on the ensuing drive. On the opening play, Berry connected with TJ Covington on an 89-yard touchdown pass. Spicer’s point-after-try was good and the lead was 38-14 with 9:19 to play.
After the kickoff, Midland forced Dordt into its first three-and-out of the afternoon and gave the Warriors’ faithful a glimmer of hope. Midland took over the ball at its 10-yard line and was able to march down the field as Berry orchestrated a seven-play 90-yard drive capped off by a 19-yard touchdown pass to Brown. Looking to cut the lead to two possessions, Midland attempted a two-point conversion. The reverse sweep pass play was snuffed out and Dordt clung to a 38-20 lead with 4:47 to play.
On the next drive, Dordt was held to its second straight three-and-out by the Warriors’ defense. After the punt, the Warriors started its next drive at the MU 29-yard line. However, on the first play from scrimmage Berry’s pass was intercepted by Dan Jungling who returned the ball to the Midland 26-yard line. The Defenders ran three plays before Leinen attempted a 39-yard field goal. The kick missed wide right and Midland took over the ball at its 21-yard line.
The Warriors tried to put together another late scoring drive, however, after four plays, Berry was sacked by Joe Johnson on fourth down, turning the ball over to Dordt with nine seconds to play. The Defenders took a knee on the final play, running out the clock and giving them the 38-20 win.
“We got whipped up front on both sides of the ball”, said Midland coach Jeff Jamrog. “We played like we practiced this week. We did not have good practices this week. We need to get this fixed fast because it doesn’t get any easier next week”.
Jamrog was disappointed in the running game. “We lost the physicality battle up front. We ran 16 times for negative three yards. I don’t think we’ve ever had negative yardage rushing.”
Dordt ran the ball 48 times for 264 yards and added 188 yards through the air. The Defenders completed 13-of-23 passes with three passing touchdowns. Overall, Dordt ran 71 plays for 452 yards of total offense.
In addition to Midland’s 16 carries for negative three yards, the Warriors completed 16-of-29 passes for 319 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. For the game, they ran 45 plays for 316 yards.
Individually for Dordt’s Kolson Kruse completed 12-of-22 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Kruse also ran the ball 11 times for 79 yards and a touchdown. Brendan Pieper had 10 carries for 52 yards and one score. In receiving, Eliot Beal caught three passes for 58 yards with two touchdowns while Isaac Looker caught a 26-yard pass for a score. Defensively, Tyler Wieringa led the way with seven tackles while Dan Jungling had six stops and an interception.
For Midland, Teryn Berry completed 16-of-29 passes for 319 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Tim Brown led the team in rushing with one carry for eight yards. TJ Covington caught three passes for a team-high 116 yards and a touchdown. Brown hauled in eight passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Treden Davis-Reed led the Warriors for the second straight week, recording eight tackles.
Dordt (1-0, 1-0 GPAC) will have a bye next weekend. The Defenders will host Hastings on Saturday, September 21. Midland (1-1, 0-1 GPAC) will host No. 10-ranked Morningside (1-1, 1-0 GPAC) next weekend. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at Heedum Field in Fremont.
