[Football] Football Pulls Away, Downs DWU in South Dakota
Doane Football went on the road on Saturday afternoon to South Dakota and took on Dakota Wesleyan on a windy afternoon in Mitchell. The "Battle of the Tigers" started in a defensive battle before Doane broke away with a late first half touchdown and two early scores in the second half. Doane is now 3-3 on the year and 3-1 in the GPAC.
The scoring started with a Bryce Cooney (SR/Omaha, Neb.) 19-yard field goal with nine seconds left in the opening quarter to cap a short-field drive. A 13-yard punt set Doane up at the DWU 35-yard line and the Tigers were able to move down to the 1-yard line before DWU forced the field goal.
Doane's offense ate up the clock in the 2nd quarter, holding the ball for 11:21 of 15 minutes. On their first drive of the quarter, they marched 88 yards on 19 plays in 9:33 to the end zone. A roughing the kicker penalty on a field goal attempt set the Tigers up for a 3-yard score by Adam Wasserman (FR/Fairbury, Neb.). Doane's defense forced a 3-and-out and another short punt to set-up the offense near midfield. On the Tigers' first play, however, a fumble was picked up and returned 60 yards for a DWU score.
Doane took over with 2:38 left in the quarter and used 1:33 of the clock on three run plays. Jamaine Derogene (JR/Dunedin, Florida) rushed for nine yards on his first two carries and then busted loose for a 66-yard score to give Doane a 17-7 lead at the half.
The Tigers started with the ball to open the 3rd quarter and the DWU defense pushed Doane backwards six yards on two run plays. Drake Davidson (JR/Moberly, Mo.) went to the air on the next play and found Izaiah Celestine (JR/Stockton, Calif.) for a 73-yard touchdown strike.
Doane's defense forced a 3-and-out on their first defensive stand of the second half and an 8-yard punt set the Tigers up to strike again. Doane used three plays to cover 35-yards for a touchdown. Davidson found Wasserman for a 5-yard touchdown and a 31-7 lead.
The final touchdown drive for the Tigers came late in the 3rd quarter. Doane covered 77 yards on nine plays as Jacobi White (JR/Grapevine, Texas) scored on a rushing attempt from seven yards out for his first touchdown as a Tiger. DWU added two fourth quarter scores to close out the scoring in the game.
Doane finished with 423 yards of total offense on the afternoon with 268 through the air and 155 on the ground. Dakota Wesleyan was limited to 205 total yards, 120 passing and 85 rushing. The Tigers were 7-of-15 on 3rd down conversions and 3-of-4 on fourth down conversions in the game.
Derogene led the Tigers with 90 yards rushing for the game on 19 carries. Davidson added 31 yards on the ground on two carries and White posted 27 yards on 17 rushes.
Through the air, Davidson completed 17-of-27 attempts for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Celestine caught four passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. Colin Kentros (SO/Lake Forest, Calif.) added three receptions for 19 yards. Doane had eight different players with a reception in the game.
Anthony Malone (SR/Centennial, Colo.) led the Tiger defense with five tackles on the day, including one tackle for loss. Warren Horne (JR/Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Connor O'Toole (SR/Wilber, Neb.) where each in on four tackles for the game. Joshua Delgado (SR/Lincoln, Neb.) recorded the only sack in the game for either team and finished with two tackles.
The defense posted five tackles for loss, one apiece from five different players. Ryan Lasauskas (SO/Omaha, Neb.) led the team with two pass breaks, picking up half of the team's total of four.
Doane returns home for a match-up with Jamestown on Saturday, October 12, at 1 PM. The game will kick-off Homecoming Saturday in Crete.