MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University football team will play its third straight game against a ranked conference opponent when the No. 21 Tigers take on No. 15 Northwestern College at 1 p.m. Saturday in Orange City, Iowa.
The No. 21 Tigers have lost their last two games putting DWU in a must-win situation against the Red Raiders. If the Tigers are to make the NAIA postseason for the first time since 1992, they will need to win the final four games of the regular season to make a case for a shot at some extra games.
Last week, the Tigers fell behind early and watched No. 3 Morningside College run away to a 76-20 win at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell, S.D., handing DWU its second straight loss to a top-10 team from the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Doane topped DWU 42-17 the week prior.
DWU (5-2, 3-2 GPAC) will need to get back to playing the solid defense that allowed the team to jump out to a 5-0 start and a ranking as high as No. 12 in the NAIA. The Tigers have allowed 118 points in the two losses recently, while in the five games prior, which all ended in DWU wins, the team allowed just 108 total.
The Tiger defense has been led by the stout linebacker corps this season, but the team will need to replace a key piece of the puzzle this week after an injury to starter Clark Butler (Discovery Bay, Calif.) against the Mustangs. The load will be picked up by sophomore Austin Van Poole (Yuba City, Calif.) and freshman Dillon Rork (Grand Island, Neb.).
Two players that will also need to step up and fill the holes on the defense are linebackers Brady Bonte (Garretson, S.D.) and Adam Bormann (Stickney, S.D.). With 49 tackles this season, Bormann leads DWU, including seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Bonte, who is in his final season with the Tigers, is second on the team with 42 tackles, six for loss and 4.5 sacks.
As a team, the Tigers are getting to the opposing quarterback this season. DWU ranks 10th in the nation in total sacks, led by junior Brady Mudder (Garretson, S.D.) with a team-best six, good enough for 5th in the NAIA.
Northwestern (4-2, 3-2 GPAC) is in a similar position as the Tigers. Both teams have two losses on the season, with Morningside and Doane each topping the Tigers and Red Raiders in recent weeks. The losses for Northwestern were much closer, with the Red Raiders falling to Doane by seven, while the Mustangs got a 20-point win in Orange City. Northwestern is the only team in the GPAC to top Concordia University this season, clipping the Bulldogs by three points.
The Red Raiders have won the last five meetings with the Tigers, topping DWU 35-7 last season at Joe Quintal. The Tigers last defeated the Red Raiders in 2009 by a score of 13-10.
The game will be broadcast on Stretch Internet and DWU fans can access the game at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/dwu/ where live video and stats will be available.