Signature Saturday – 2021 gridiron campaign opens on high note

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – A glorious late summer evening played host to plenty of near picture-perfect football from National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' No. 3-ranked Morningside University Sept. 4.

Senior quarterback Joe Dolincheck (Bellevue, Neb.) fired for 461 yards and five touchdowns, as trio among the deep Mustangs' receiving corps gained a lions' share of the receptions. Sophomore Zach Norton (Sioux Falls, S.D.) burst onto the scene with seven catches for 176 yards and two scores; standout senior Reid Jurgensmeier (Wahoo, Neb.) resumed his star-studded career with seven catches for 108 yards and one touchdown, and fellow senior wideout Austin Johnson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) hauled in six receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns.

The aerial attack was just part of the story for head coach Steve Ryan's team aiding their skipper to his 195^th career decision in a 63-7 final. The defensive unit of co-coordinators Casey Jacobsen and Nate Turner nearly pitched a 60-minute shutout to the joy of a partisan Mside crowd inside Elwood Olsen Stadium. They limited the usually-strong Concordia University rushing attack to only 73 yards. They forced them into putting the ball up in the air, as Wyatt Ehlers and DJ McGarvie tossed a combined 27 attempts. The senior defensive line combo of Weston Schultz (Mason City, Iowa) and Dominick Barrett (Baltimore, Md.) kept both Bulldog signal callers on the run, picking up four of the home team's seven sacks. Senior linebacker Jalen Portis (St. Louis, Mo.) tallied a team-best nine tackles.

Morningside continues its 2021 slate Saturday, Sept. 11. They visit Doane University's Al Papik Field in Crete, Neb.

NOTES: Morningside extended its season opener win streak to 17 … The offense sent the program over the 50-point mark for the 43^rd time since 2015 … The 63 points were the most the Mustangs have scored against Concordia in the series in which Mside ran its win streak to 17.