Late stand lifts Morningside to critical conference road win

SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – Defense wins championships.

SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – Defense wins championships.

While there are still three weeks remaining in the 2020 Great Plains Athletic Conference season, head coach Steve Ryan and the nine-time defending champion Morningside College Mustangs may look back on a pivotal defensive stop in the waning moments Saturday, Oct. 31, as a propellant towards another potential top spot league finish.

Battling a high-flying Dordt University offense throughout an intense 60 minutes at DU's Open Space Park field, co-coordinators Casey Jacobsen and Nathan Turner's unit managed to make several key plays to preserve a 35-30 victory. Three of them occurred in the form of interceptions, two of which occurred in their own end zone to snuff out Defender scoring chances. Junior defensive back Drew Bessey (JR/Palmyra, Neb.) (Palmyra, Neb.) snapped up his fifth career and fourth this season; junior linebacker Cooper von Seggern (Wisner, Neb.) took away his first career pick, which occurred in Mside's end zone; and senior linebacker Tyler Wingert (SR/Holstein, Iowa) (Holstein, Iowa), the defensive bell-cow throughout the afternoon, produced the biggest. With Dordt inside Morningside's 10-yard line with just over a minute to go, DU quarterback Noah Clayberg sailed one to the end zone that Wingert brought down for his second career air theft and scampered out to the 25-yard line to lock up a hard-fought victory.

Wingert's story didn't end with the huge interception. He added 13 tackles, a single-game personal career-high, and the top number for the Maroon during the day. Junior linebacker Weston Schultz (JR/Mason City, Iowa) (Mason City, Iowa) continued to impress with 11 tackles, one of which was part of a tackle loss to mirror Wingert's similar feat. Freshman linebacker Jalen Portis (FR/St. Louis, Mo.) (St. Louis, Mo.), who's become a household name for Mside fans this season, had another big outing with 11 tackles, including a half-one for a home team loss.

Despite being out-gained by the Defenders, Ryan's offense, with coordinator Andrew Rohde at the controls, had plenty of highlights. Senior running back Arnijae "AP" Ponder (Omaha, Neb.) was at the forefront, chalking up 165 yards on 28 carries, both single-game season bests. His Class of 2021 backfield mate, Anthony Sims (SR/Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), added a three-touchdown day on the ground. Although the air numbers weren't as high octane as in previous weeks, junior quarterback Joe Dolincheck (JR/Bellevue, Neb.) (Bellevue, Neb.) reeled off his 20^th 200-yard-plus appearance and game in which he's thrown for two-or-more touchdowns (219/2) with senior wide receiver Reis Jurgensmeier (Wahoo, Neb.) registering his eighth straight 100-yard-plus receiving game during a partly sunny Siouxland matinee in which he moved past former standout Beau Kildow into second on the program's all-time receiving yards list.

Morningside (6-0) returns to action Saturday, Nov. 7. They travel to Bulldog Stadium in Seward, Neb., for a 1 p.m. kickoff against Concordia University.

NOTES: Senior defensive lineman Niklas Gustav (SR/Hamburg, Germany) (Hamburg, Germany) continued to creep closer to the program's career sack record. He tallied half of one to up his total to 21.5, just one and a half behind record-holder Bob McCabe (23) … Sophomore placekicker Chase Carter (SO/Knoxville, Iowa) (Knoxville, Iowa) ran his successive made extra point streak to 112 with five more correct attempts. He wasn't the lone special teams' star, though. Freshman Brendan Franke (FR/Omaha, Neb.) (Omaha, Neb.) averaged better than 50 yards per kickoff attempt with five touchbacks, and junior punter Colton Irlbeck (JR/Templeton, Iowa) (Templeton, Iowa), battling a brisk wind, managed to average better than 35 yards per try.