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Steve
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FREMONT, Neb. – It was a beautiful afternoon for football in Fremont on Saturday as Midland University and Dordt University opened up the 2020 season. A crowd of over 1,000 fans enjoyed temperatures in the mid-70s with a light breeze as the Defenders defeated the Warriors, 22-14, at Heedum Field. In addition to the season opener for both squads, it was also their conference opener as well.
After exchanging punts on each of their first two drives, the Defenders found their way into the endzone and onto the scoreboard with a six-yard quarterback rush by Noah Clayberg with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter. Brett Zachman would add the extra point and Dordt would take a 7-0 lead into the quarter break.
In the second quarter, Clayberg and the Defenders took advantage of a fumble by the Warriors, turning it into another score. This time Clayberg connected with Ben Heuvelhorst on a short six-yard pass. Zachman’s kick made it 14-0 with 13:18 left in the opening half.
Midland would respond quickly on their next drive with a big pass and catch for their first touchdown of the year. On a 3rd and 10 from their 29-yard line, EJ Stewart connected with Darrin Gentry across the middle and Gentry took it 71 yards to the end zone. After a two-point conversion attempt was negated by a penalty, Midland’s Jared Quinonez kicked a successful PAT to make it 14-7 with 12:04 on the clock.
That’s were things would stand as the teams traded unfruitful possessions the rest of the opening half.
After the intermission, the two teams traded turnovers as Dordt forced an interception and Midland recovered a fumble midway through the quarter.
The Defenders defense would come up big after the fumble though. They forced Midland to a punt attempt from their end zone and after a bad snap, the ball went across the back end line for a safety, giving Dordt a 16-7 lead.
Their lead would grow on their first drive of the fourth quarter as Carter Schiebout rushed in from 15 yards out, capping an 8 play 51-yard drive. The Warriors’ Warren Thomas would block the extra point attempt. Theo Blum scooped up the loose ball and returned it into Defender territory but was ultimately tackled as he attempted to score a pair of points for the Warriors on the play.
After the kickoff, Midland would drive 75 yards for the score through the air once more. Stewart found Austin Harris for the 31-yard pass and catch. With the Quinonez successful point-after kick, the lead was cut to one-possession with 4:02 left on the clock.
With all three timeouts, the Warriors elected to kick the ball deep and the Defenders would watch it go out of the end zone for a touchback.
Midland’s defense did its job on the next series forcing a Dordt to a 4th-and-inches decision at their own 34. The Warriors used their first timeout to stop the clock with just over two minutes left.
With the Defenders in punt formation, the Warriors were forced to burn their second timeout as they had extra players running off the field with a snap imminent. Dordt would follow the back-to-back Midland timeouts with one of their own to draw up an offensive play that could potentially seal the game.
They called the right play as they gained three yards and with it the ability to run the clock down even further. Dordt would run the clock down to 11 seconds before punting it back to Midland.
On the Warriors last chance drive they were faced with going 77 yards with just three seconds, or virtually one play from scrimmage. They would complete a short pass across the middle and began a series of laterals that ended with a fumble that was recovered by the Defenders to end the game.
“To hold them to 22 points with all the guys they had coming back, I would’ve taken before the game,” said head coach Jeff Jamrog in his postgame interview. “I really thought maybe we would score 42 and we scored just 14. We never could get the rushing game going. Both teams had short-yardage opportunities on third and fourth down. They converted and we didn’t.”
Dordt had a productive day on the ground, rushing for 196 yards on 50 carries. They added 132 yards through the air on 22 attempts for a total of 328 yards of total offense.
The Warriors bested them in yardage through the air, passing for 298 yards on 39 throws. On the ground, Midland was held to just 90 yards on 38 rushes.
Keenan Smith had the bulk of the rushing yards, going 63 on 15 attempts. River Walker, who came in at quarterback in the second half, had 58 yards on 8 carries.
Other leaders for the Warriors offensively were Steward with 227 yards passing with a pair of touchdowns. Gentry and Harris led the way with 89 and 78 yards receiving, each scoring once.
Defensively, Theo Blum had 12 total tackles to lead the team. Zach Acamo had nine stops on the day while Chase Lipsys and Connor Smith were each in on eight tackles.
Midland (1-0) will look to rebound from the loss next week as they host Morningside College, who opened their season with a night game against Northwestern on Saturday. The Mustangs are the reigning NAIA National Champions. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 19 inside Heedum Field.

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