No. 8 Morningside executes assignments in win over No. 4 Dordt

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – A strong start and a solid defensive performance on Saturday helped the Morningside University football team defeat Dordt 31-21 at Open Space Park.

The Mustangs scored 21 first-quarter points on the road in a Top 10 NAIA battle that put them atop the Great Plains Athletic Conference standings.

On its opening drive, Morningside scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Zack Chevalier to Jakob Nelson. That play ended a 53-yard drive that lasted 80 seconds.

Less than 2 minutes later, Laken Harnly earned his second punt return TD of the season with a 56-yard return.

Then, Lennx Brown caught a pass from Chevalier for 56 yards that put the Mustangs up 21-7 with 6 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

"We got a short field from the defense, and we hit a couple big plays and that was so important for us to get out of the gate," said head coach Steve Ryan on the KMNS-AM postgame show.

The final touchdown scoring play came with 1:40 left in the second quarter. Running back Max Hough got a 21-yard TD reception that gave the Mustangs a 28-7 lead.

Chevalier was 30-for-44 for 308 yards to go with his three TD passes. Drew Sellon was his most popular receiver with seven catches for 92 yards.

Tommy Fitzsimmons also added a field goal to start the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs amassed 454 total yards. Hough led the rushing attack with 30 carries for 151 yards, and his longest carry was 30.

Defensively, Dijion Walls collected three interceptions in the game. He became the 11th Mustang to do so.

"He made some good plays," Ryan said. "He's an outstanding football player, and I'm proud of what he did today. His job was to cover one guy."

Walls not only covered his man effectively, but the Mustangs also did a solid job managing Dordt's option offense overall. The Defenders had 249 total offensive yards, and 115 of those were on the ground. Morningside was able to force Dordt QB Kolson Kruse to throw it 37 times. He completed 13 of those throws.

"The front seven did a real nice job of staying true and staying on top of things, and turning it into a passing game," Ryan said. "You have to be sound, you have to do your job and that's what they did today."

Isaac Pingel led the Mustangs' defense with seven total tackles, five solo. Cade Harriman, Malik Hampton, Blake Bellamy, and Gabe Mehrens each recorded a tackle for loss.