No peeking allowed for M'side
By Terry Hersom Journal sports editor | Posted: Saturday, September 15, 2007
As if Steve Ryan would tolerate his Morningside College football team peeking ahead, the Mustangs have been suitably warned not to think beyond a tough Great Plains Athletic Conference assignment today at Dakota Wesleyan.
Even with top-ranked and defending NAIA national champion Sioux Falls headed for Elwood Olsen Stadium next Saturday, Morningside has a couple of very compelling reasons for not looking past today's 1 p.m. contest at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell, S.D.
One, of course, is that disappointing 23-14 loss last Saturday night to Nebraska Wesleyan, which intercepted four passes and turned two of them into pivotal touchdowns and a victory that landed the Prairie Wolves in this week's NAIA Top 25 with a No. 22 national ranking.
The other is an explosive Dakota Wesleyan squad that trounced Midland Lutheran 47-7 in its season opener, then saw a 30-30 stalemate late in the third quarter turn into a tough 44-30 loss last Saturday at Northwestern. The victorious Red Raiders, who had another close call in an opening 13-12 win at Nebraska Wesleyan, climbed from seventh to No. 5 in this week's national poll.
Dakota Wesleyan, just 1-10 in 2004 and 1-9 in 2005, began an obvious ascent in its second season under Coach Brad Pole last fall, improving to 4-6. The first two games this year, in spite of last week's high-scoring setback, indicates continued improvement for the Tigers.
"We know this is a good team and it's going to be a big battle,'' said Ryan, whose team tumbled from No. 11 to a tie for No. 19 in the latest rankings. "Our defense is playing extremely well, but we know this is going to be a real test for them, as good an offensive team as Dakota Wesleyan is.''
Morningside spotted Nebraska Wesleyan a quick 13-0 advantage last week after junior quarterback Ian Gilworth's first pass of the game was picked off and returned 34 yards for a touchdown.
The Mustangs, though, regrouped with two second-quarter TD drives to grab a 14-13 lead. And, just when it appeared as if they would punch home another score just before halftime, Nebraska Wesleyan's Paul Seger swiped another Gilworth pass and hauled it 93 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown as the half ended.
"We just need to run better routes and make better decisions with the football,'' said Ryan. "I think we've worked on that this week and, hopefully, we've been able to work that out.
"The other thing about last week's game was that Nebraska Wesleyan kicked the ball extremely well and we had difficult field position most of the game. We just didn't make any big plays and when you have to go 95 yards every drive, it's tough to do it without some big plays.''
The loss, which snapped a 16-game winning streak at Olsen, saw the Mustangs pile up 417 yards in total offense to just 177 for Nebraska Wesleyan.
Meanwhile, Dakota Wesleyan continued to show off a potent offense with 30 points in the loss at Northwestern. The previous week, the Tigers clicked for 555 yards, including 324 rushing, in their romp over Midland Lutheran.
Jon Doom, a sophomore from Wagner, S.D., is in his second season as the Dakota Wesleyan quarterback, but he also gets some strong relief from backup Tanner Tucker, a 6-5, 245-pound senior from Rapid City. Jesse Ayers, a junior from Burbank, S.D., who spent two years at Glendale (Ariz.) Community College, heads up the receiving corps.
The Tigers' defense was a big story last year as Morningside squeezed out a 13-0 win in a contest that was scoreless until late in the third quarter. Junior linebackers Daniel Wysong (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Chris Sheckler (Rock Springs, Wyo.), who both earned honorable mention All-GPAC honors, are among the leading holdovers on that unit.
Morningside's Gilworth has passed for 534 yards in the first two games, favoring wide receivers Beau Kildow (16 catches for 181 yards), Antuan Bloom (11 for 184) and Blake Anderson (11 for 119). Sophomore running back Pete Lewis, who takes over as the starter following a season-ending injury for senior Nick Reigle (see separate story), leads the ground game with 121 yards on 33 carries.
For the second time in as many games this season, the Morningside College football team has lost a veteran starter to a season-ending injury.
Running back Nick Reigle, a fifth-year senior from Madison, Neb., has apparently played his final game for the Mustangs after sustaining a fractured right foot in last Saturday's 23-14 loss to Nebraska Wesleyan.
Reigle, Morningside's leading rusher the last two years with 888 yards in 2005 and 639 last fall, ranks fourth in career rushing yards at the school with 1,561 yards, most of that in two seasons after transferring from Hastings College. He will undergo surgery to repair the injury, according to Steve Ryan, the Mustangs' head coach.
"Nick has been a great leader and he had a phenomenal off-season,'' said Ryan. "I really feel for the young man. Sometimes life is not fair.''
Reigle is the third Morningside starter to have his season end prematurely. Defensive lineman Casey Hancock was lost in pre-season drills and linebacker Ben Loberg was injured in the Mustangs' opening 73-0 route of Doane, both with knee injuries.
"We've got guys who can step up and fill those roles, we'll be fine,'' said Ryan. "You just feel bad for the kids.''
Sophomore Pete Lewis, who rushed for 550 yards as a true freshman last fall and had 81 yards on 21 carries last Saturday, takes over as the starter at running back. He is backed up by junior Tyler Childress, who has run for 1,139 yards and a school-record 20 rushing touchdowns.
Even with top-ranked and defending NAIA national champion Sioux Falls headed for Elwood Olsen Stadium next Saturday, Morningside has a couple of very compelling reasons for not looking past today's 1 p.m. contest at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell, S.D.
One, of course, is that disappointing 23-14 loss last Saturday night to Nebraska Wesleyan, which intercepted four passes and turned two of them into pivotal touchdowns and a victory that landed the Prairie Wolves in this week's NAIA Top 25 with a No. 22 national ranking.
The other is an explosive Dakota Wesleyan squad that trounced Midland Lutheran 47-7 in its season opener, then saw a 30-30 stalemate late in the third quarter turn into a tough 44-30 loss last Saturday at Northwestern. The victorious Red Raiders, who had another close call in an opening 13-12 win at Nebraska Wesleyan, climbed from seventh to No. 5 in this week's national poll.
Dakota Wesleyan, just 1-10 in 2004 and 1-9 in 2005, began an obvious ascent in its second season under Coach Brad Pole last fall, improving to 4-6. The first two games this year, in spite of last week's high-scoring setback, indicates continued improvement for the Tigers.
"We know this is a good team and it's going to be a big battle,'' said Ryan, whose team tumbled from No. 11 to a tie for No. 19 in the latest rankings. "Our defense is playing extremely well, but we know this is going to be a real test for them, as good an offensive team as Dakota Wesleyan is.''
Morningside spotted Nebraska Wesleyan a quick 13-0 advantage last week after junior quarterback Ian Gilworth's first pass of the game was picked off and returned 34 yards for a touchdown.
The Mustangs, though, regrouped with two second-quarter TD drives to grab a 14-13 lead. And, just when it appeared as if they would punch home another score just before halftime, Nebraska Wesleyan's Paul Seger swiped another Gilworth pass and hauled it 93 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown as the half ended.
"We just need to run better routes and make better decisions with the football,'' said Ryan. "I think we've worked on that this week and, hopefully, we've been able to work that out.
"The other thing about last week's game was that Nebraska Wesleyan kicked the ball extremely well and we had difficult field position most of the game. We just didn't make any big plays and when you have to go 95 yards every drive, it's tough to do it without some big plays.''
The loss, which snapped a 16-game winning streak at Olsen, saw the Mustangs pile up 417 yards in total offense to just 177 for Nebraska Wesleyan.
Meanwhile, Dakota Wesleyan continued to show off a potent offense with 30 points in the loss at Northwestern. The previous week, the Tigers clicked for 555 yards, including 324 rushing, in their romp over Midland Lutheran.
Jon Doom, a sophomore from Wagner, S.D., is in his second season as the Dakota Wesleyan quarterback, but he also gets some strong relief from backup Tanner Tucker, a 6-5, 245-pound senior from Rapid City. Jesse Ayers, a junior from Burbank, S.D., who spent two years at Glendale (Ariz.) Community College, heads up the receiving corps.
The Tigers' defense was a big story last year as Morningside squeezed out a 13-0 win in a contest that was scoreless until late in the third quarter. Junior linebackers Daniel Wysong (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Chris Sheckler (Rock Springs, Wyo.), who both earned honorable mention All-GPAC honors, are among the leading holdovers on that unit.
Morningside's Gilworth has passed for 534 yards in the first two games, favoring wide receivers Beau Kildow (16 catches for 181 yards), Antuan Bloom (11 for 184) and Blake Anderson (11 for 119). Sophomore running back Pete Lewis, who takes over as the starter following a season-ending injury for senior Nick Reigle (see separate story), leads the ground game with 121 yards on 33 carries.
For the second time in as many games this season, the Morningside College football team has lost a veteran starter to a season-ending injury.
Running back Nick Reigle, a fifth-year senior from Madison, Neb., has apparently played his final game for the Mustangs after sustaining a fractured right foot in last Saturday's 23-14 loss to Nebraska Wesleyan.
Reigle, Morningside's leading rusher the last two years with 888 yards in 2005 and 639 last fall, ranks fourth in career rushing yards at the school with 1,561 yards, most of that in two seasons after transferring from Hastings College. He will undergo surgery to repair the injury, according to Steve Ryan, the Mustangs' head coach.
"Nick has been a great leader and he had a phenomenal off-season,'' said Ryan. "I really feel for the young man. Sometimes life is not fair.''
Reigle is the third Morningside starter to have his season end prematurely. Defensive lineman Casey Hancock was lost in pre-season drills and linebacker Ben Loberg was injured in the Mustangs' opening 73-0 route of Doane, both with knee injuries.
"We've got guys who can step up and fill those roles, we'll be fine,'' said Ryan. "You just feel bad for the kids.''
Sophomore Pete Lewis, who rushed for 550 yards as a true freshman last fall and had 81 yards on 21 carries last Saturday, takes over as the starter at running back. He is backed up by junior Tyler Childress, who has run for 1,139 yards and a school-record 20 rushing touchdowns.
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