MITCHELL, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan Football hosted the Waldorf Warriors as a part of the 2025 Blue & White Days homecoming celebration.
Lane Darrow opened the contest with a 44-yard kickoff return to get the Tigers into Warrior territory, where they capitalized with a seven-play touchdown drive in just under four minutes. The touchdown came from a two-yard Sean DeBlieck reception from Jed Jenson to give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead. Jenson went on to tie his career-high of five touchdown passes on the day while setting a new best mark in completion percentage, going 20-28 (71.4%) for 226 total passing yards. Following DWU's opening drive, Waldorf responded quickly with a 75-yard touchdown pass to tie the game, but another efficient seven-play drive from the Tigers helped them reclaim the lead after a 22-yard touchdown pass to Cole Holden, who also led the team in receiving yards with 73 on five receptions.
Following the opening touchdown, the Dakota Wesleyan defense settled into the contest, forcing two turnovers on downs, a punt, and a fumble on the following Waldorf first-half drives. The defense was led by Grayson Hanson and Joe VanOverschelde, who recorded seven tackles each, with Hanson also recording a pass breakup and VanOverschelde contributing on a tackle-for-loss. Carter Skogsberg was a major contributor on the defensive line with two sacks on the day, including a forced fumble that was recovered by the Tigers. DWU's shutout second and third quarters gave the offense more time to put up points, and with second-quarter receiving touchdowns from Holden and Caleb Kilbride, the Tigers would take a 27-7 lead into halftime.
A three-and-out from the Warriors on the opening drive of the second half gave the Tigers another offensive opportunity. Dakota Wesleyan pieced together a nine-play, 94-yard drive that was capped off by a touchdown pass to Steven Christion that would extend the scoreline, 33-7. The Tigers would not score any more points, but their next two drives on offense would take over 11 minutes off the clock, keeping control of the football through the end of the contest. A late touchdown from the Warriors would bring the final score to 33-14 in favor of Dakota Wesleyan. The Tigers move to 3-5 on the season and 2-5 in conference play.
DWU Football will head down to Yankton, South Dakota to take on the Mount Marty Lancers in its final road contest of the season on Saturday, November 1st, at 1:00 PM. See the full 2025 schedule here.