Football Finishes 2018 Season With Win Over DWU
Mitchell, S.D.- The Hastings College football team were able to finish off the season on a strong note, taking down the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers on the road 21-13.
Both the Broncos and the Tigers struggled to get the ball moving offensively in the first quarter, with the Tigers having the best opportunity, getting the ball to the Hastings 6-yard line. The drive resulted in a missed 24-yard field goal that went wide left.
The first scoring drive started with 8:07 left in the first half, as the Tigers went 62 yards in 10 plays, with the final play being a 2-yard rushing touchdown for DWU's Luke Loudenburg, but a failed PAT attempt kept it a 6-0 lead for the Tigers.
Hastings was unable to get anything going in the following drive, having to have Alex Stogdill (SR/Lincoln, NE) punt it to the DWU 48-yard line. This did not matter, as the second play of DWU's drive resulted in a 65-yard pick-six by Anthony Murray (SR/Aurora, CO) to tie the game, and the Stogdill PAT put the Broncos ahead with 40 second left in the half and starting the second half with the ball.
The Broncos were able to keep the momentum going in the second half, with the opening drive of the half including Willingham carving up 28 yards on six plays and a 36-yard reception by Jordan Johnson (SR/Spring Valley, CA) from Isaiah Jackson (JR/Compton, CA) to get to the one-yard line. The next play was a Tahj Willingham (SR/Denver, CO) one-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 14-6 lead over the Tigers.
Hastings struck one more time in the beginning of the fourth quarter, as Tyree Nesmith (SO/Baltimore, MD) got a 19-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 21-6 lead.
Dakota Wesleyan were able to cut into the Broncos' lead with a five-yard rushing touchdown by Loudenburg, making it the eventual 21-13 final score.
The Broncos were able to get the victory despite being outgained in total offense 336-282. Willingham finished the game with 169 yards rushing on 33 carries as he finishes his career just 37 yards shy of the all-time school career rushing record with 3,675 career rushing yards. Travis Soucie still holds the record with 3,712.
Hastings finishes the season 5-6 overall and 3-6 in GPAC play and will look to improve in their 2019 campaign.
