Balanced Diet - Morningside opens GPAC slate on a high note

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Getting all the offensive and defensive nutrients they needed.

Replicating what one needs at the kitchen table, top-ranked Morningside College had a nearly even dose of rushing and passing for visiting No. 24-ranked Dordt University and several critical plays against a game Defenders offense Saturday, Sept. 14. It all totaled to a winning recipe for head coach Steve Ryan's squad.

They added one more victory to three impressive streaks. The Mustangs claimed a 35th straight Great Plains Athletic Conference decision, a 31st successive regular-season positive and their 17th overall victory in a row with a 56-14 final in front of a large and loud Maroon crowd at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

As was the case in the season opener, heroes were plentiful for the defending National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' champions. On offense, sophomore quarterback Joe Dolincheck (SO/Bellevue, NE) (Bellevue, Neb.) continued to impress eclipsing the 500-yard season mark in the fourth quarter, part of a day in which he went 21 for 35 for 279 yards and two touchdowns. The upperclassman receiving duo of senior Bo Els (SR/Erie, CO) (Erie, Colo.) and junior Reid Jurgensmeier (JR/Wahoo, NE) (Wahoo, Neb.) were the sophomore signal caller's top targets with Els hauling in eight catches for 76 yards, and Jurgensmeier taking in three receptions for 86 yards. Mside's ground attack was fierce, too, with 289 yards on 38 attempts which helped the backfield crew find the end zone four times. Junior Arnijae "AP" Ponder (Griffin, Ga.) added to his highlight reel with a school-record 99-yard scamper to the house late in the first half with the home team leading just 14-7, part of a single-game personal best 216 yards and two scores. Fellow junior Anthony Sims (JR/Fort Lauderdale, FL) (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) came off the bench and also crossed the goal line twice during a 56-yard day.

Morningside's defense, after the visitors hooked up on an 80-yard scoring strike on the third play from scrimmage, answered the bell and more from that point. Dordt managed just 235 yards over the next 54 plays and didn't add their second touchdown until the final stanza. A veteran trio was at the forefront of the stonewall output. Senior linebacker Joel Katzer (SR/Wellsville, KS) (Wellsburg, Kan.) produced several eye-popping stops and also gathered in a pick-six during a 10-tackle, one and a half tackles for loss and a half a sack afternoon. Chase Nelson (SR/Beatrice, NE) (Alliance, Neb.), also a senior, was next in line tackles-wise with nine which included two tackles for losses and a sack, and junior defensive lineman Niklas Gustav (JR/Hamburg, Germany) (Hamburg, Germany) tallied five tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble.

The Mustangs (2-0 overall, 1-0 GPAC) wrap up a three-game, season-opening home set Saturday, Sept. 21. Midland University visits for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff that highlights Homecoming 2019 festivities.

NOTES: Mside's final total continued an impressive roll for the offense. They've been at-or-above 40 points in each of the last 11 regular-season outings … The Mustangs moved to 12-0 all-time against DU.