Courtesy of Midland Athletics
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – (RV) Midland University fell to No. 7 Dordt University, 17-14, in Great Plains Athletic Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Open Space Park.
Midland received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out before punting. Dordt began its first drive at the Midland 49-yard line. On the second play, Kolson Kruse completed a 13-yard pass to Rhett Williams to the Midland 31. Eight plays later, Thomas Fritz ran in an 8-yard touchdown. Stephen Leinen’s extra point gave Dordt a 7-0 lead with 7:15 left in the first quarter.
Midland began its next drive at the 25 after a touchback. On the third play, Brodey Johnsoncompleted a 13-yard pass to T.J. Covington to the 41. He followed with a 14-yard completion to Tyson Denkert to the Dordt 45. Johnson and Denkert later connected again for 13 yards to the Dordt 21 before the quarter ended with Dordt leading 7-0.
On the second play of the second quarter, Midland went for it on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line but was stopped.
Dordt took over and gained a first down on a 13-yard run by Thomas Fritz, but was forced to punt four plays later. Midland took over at its own 38. On the fourth play of the drive, Johnson was intercepted by Nathan Feldmann at the Dordt 45.
Midland’s defense responded with a three-and-out, and the Warriors regained possession at their own 20. On the fourth play, Johnson hit Denkert for 20 yards to the Dordt 44. Two plays later, Johnson connected with Covington for a 43-yard touchdown. Payden Alexander‘s PAT tied the game at 7-7 with 5:23 left in the half.
Dordt’s Keenan Valverde returned the kickoff 28 yards to the 34. The Defenders punted six plays later, and Midland took over at its own 20. On the second play, Johnson connected with Tae Marks for 17 yards to the 41. On the next play, Colin Vigil caught a 10-yard pass but fumbled, and Thomas Walder recovered for Dordt at the Defender 46.
After a Dordt punt, Midland took over at its own 18. Both teams traded punts, and the half ended tied 7-7.
Dordt received the second-half kickoff and started at its own 39. On the first play, Noah Strickfaden completed a 12-yard pass to Williams to the Midland 44, then connected with him again for 31 yards to the 13. Four plays later, Leinen kicked a 22-yard field goal to put Dordt up 10-7 with 11:27 left in the third.
Midland began its next drive at the 23 after a 23-yard return by Denkert. Johnson completed a 20-yard pass to Marks on the first play, but the Warriors were forced to punt four plays later.
On Dordt’s next drive, Strickfaden completed passes of 27 and 32 yards to move the ball to the Midland 2. McCoy then scored on a 2-yard run, and Leinen’s PAT extended the lead to 17-7 with 5:52 left in the quarter.
Midland responded with a drive into Dordt territory as the quarter ended, but missed a 35-yard field goal attempt on the first play of the fourth.
After trading punts, Midland drove again. On a fourth-down play, Johnson completed a 28-yard pass to Marks to the Dordt 7, but the drive stalled and Alexander missed a 24-yard field goal wide left.
Midland’s defense forced a fumble on the next series when Strickfaden was sacked and lost the ball. Dougie Silva recovered at the Dordt 21. Four plays later, Johnson threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Marks. Alexander’s extra point made it 17-14 with 1:53 remaining.
Dordt recovered the kickoff, and on the first play, McCoy broke free for a 44-yard run to the Midland 18. Midland held on downs and got the ball back, but a multi-lateral attempt on the final play ended at the Midland 34 to seal the game.
Dordt totaled 333 yards on 60 plays, completing 8-of-13 passes for 132 yards and rushing 47 times for 201 yards.
Midland ran 65 plays for 399 yards, completing 34-of-49 passes for 376 yards while rushing 16 times for 23 yards.
For the Defenders, Strickfaden went 4-of-7 for 102 yards. McCoy rushed 14 times for 86 yards and a touchdown; Fritz had 13 carries for 59 yards and a score. Williams caught five passes for 90 yards. Defensively, Coleson Quiring led with 10 tackles. Walder recorded four tackles and a fumble recovery.
For the Warriors, Johnson completed 34-of-49 passes for 376 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Denkert had 13 carries for 22 yards and 11 receptions for 94 yards. Marks caught nine passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. Covington had three receptions for 89 yards and a score. On defense, Carter Wagner recorded seven tackles, and Silva added two tackles and a fumble recovery.
Up next, Midland (4-4, 4-3 GPAC) returns home to host No. 24 Northwestern (4-3, 4-3 GPAC) on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Heedum Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Fremont, Neb.
