Aug. 30—MADISON, S.D. — The Chamber of Commerce traveling trophy is staying in Madison.
Dakota State struck back in its non-conference rivalry with Dakota Wesleyan to kick off the college football season, reclaiming the upper hand in the series with a 35-27 victory on Saturday night at Brian Kern Family Stadium.
DSU now holds an 8-7 edge in the trophy series and hasn't lost to DWU in Madison since 2015, a streak of five straight home wins.
However, what started as a rout for the 25th-ranked Trojans nearly turned into an improbable Tiger comeback.
From down three scores at halftime and down two scores twice in the fourth quarter, DWU got the ball back with under a minute to play and an opportunity to tie the game, though backed up to its own 1-yard line. It took a third Trojan interception of the fourth quarter to put the Tigers away for good.
"The intensity of this rivalry is a great testament to exactly why Dakota Wesleyan, down 21-0, didn't fold," said Dakota State coach Josh Anderson. "We didn't anticipate that they would. We talked about how they would make a surge and come back, and they did a great job of capitalizing where we struggled."
The Trojans used an all-out air attack to put the Tigers in an early hole. DSU quarterback Tray Hettick slung three first-half touchdown passes — one each to Tim Halbur, Melek Ford and Maddox Kihne — as part of an opening 30 minutes that saw the Trojans accumulate 266 passing yards and average 8.6 yards per play. It was all DSU at halftime, up 21-0.
"Ultimately, in the first half, we weren't doing a good job of executing," said DWU coach Alex Kretzschmar. "We weren't doing what we needed to do in all three phases. We have to make sure we come to games ready to go, and I'll take responsibility for that."
The Tigers found a spark out of halftime, as Jackson Jarding intercepted a tipped Hettick pass to set up a short field. Facing fourth-and-5 at the DSU 38-yard line, Jed Jenson found Caleb Kilbride up the seam for a touchdown, though a blocked extra point left the score at 21-6.
DWU then forced a Trojan punt that pinned the ball back inside the Tigers' own 5-yard line. Spurred by a 39-yard rush from Gus Scott, DWU cashed in for another touchdown as Scott caught an 18-yard scoring strike from Jenson. However, a missed two-point pass left a two-score margin at 21-12 late in the third quarter.
That gave way to a frantic, back-and-forth final 15 minutes.
Another quick DSU strike in the form of a Hettick touchdown pass to Jovi Wolf in the first minute of the fourth quarter restored a two-score lead for the home team. But once again DWU had a reply, as a Jenson-to-Kilbride 15-yard scoring connection followed by a successful two-point conversion made it 28-20 with 10:47 to go, the first time with a one-score margin since it was 7-0 midway through the second quarter.
Though DWU regained possession with a chance to tie the game, a Tamareon Foster interception of Jenson breathed new life into the Trojans, who promptly added Hettick's fifth touchdown pass of the night and second to Ford.
A second Jenson interception on DWU's next drive, this time snared by Michael Foster, looked poised to sink the Tigers' chances. But Trevor Sladky came away with an interception of Hettick to set up a Jenson touchdown pass to Steven Christion with under two minutes to play.
"The guys just continued to keep their composure," Kretzschmar said. "It didn't matter if there was a big play one way or the other. They did a great job of making sure that, whatever was going on, we were focused on going to the next play."
After a failed onside kick attempt, DWU forced a DSU punt, which was downed at the 1-yard line. With 48 seconds to play and no timeouts, DWU had to push the ball down the field aggressively, and Aidan Jahns came down with a game-sealing interception.
"We were in trouble in the second half," Anderson said, noting the Trojans were down a cornerback and their top two pass rushers for the final two quarters. "Luckily, we made plays when we needed it most."
Despite five total turnovers, all interceptions, the two teams combined for 838 yards of offense in the game.
Hettick finished 23-for-32 passing for 429 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions, outdueling Jenson, who posted 226 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions while going 20 of 38 through the air. Ford hauled in nine passes for 242 yards and two scores for the Trojans.
"That connection ended up saving us," Anderson said of Hettick and Ford. "That was a very good (DWU) defense, and the front seven really shut down our run, so we had to resort to going to the air a little more than we prefer."
For DWU, Chase McGillivary led the way with seven receptions for 73 yards, and Kilbride added 69 yards on four grabs. Landon Iverson had 75 rushing yards on 14 carries for DWU, as DSU managed 33 total yards rushing as a team, including sack yardage.
Reed Rus, a Mount Vernon native and transfer by way of the University of South Dakota, tallied three sacks and tied for DWU's team-lead in tackles with eight in his debut as a Tiger. Jestin Bayer also had eight tackles with one sack.
All in all, Kretzschmar felt the DWU defense played well, particularly in the first half to keep the score at 7-0 for a prolonged stretch. It just didn't always coincide with the same level of execution elsewhere.
"When the defense did get a stop — which they got several and really did a great job tonight, just a couple of big plays here and there — we didn't do what we needed to do to take advantage of that," Kretzschmar said. "It wasn't until the second half that we truly started playing complementary football."
Josiah Perez had nine tackles to lead DSU, while Foster had six tackles and four pass breakups in addition to his interception.
DWU (0-1) opens Great Plains Athletic Conference action at home on Saturday, Sept. 5, with the all-Tiger tilt against Doane. DSU (1-0) heads west to play NCAA Division II Black Hills State in Spearfish on Sept. 5.
No. 25 Dakota State 35, Dakota Wesleyan 27
Scoring summary
First quarter
DSU: Tim Halbur 9 pass from Tray Hettick (Malte Hamann kick), 12:58
Second quarter
DSU: Melek Ford 1 pass from Hettick (Hamann kick), 5:03
DSU: Maddox Kihne 30 pass from Hettick (Hamann kick), 1:28
Third quarter
DWU: Caleb Kilbride 38 pass from Jed Jenson (Joel Hallgren kick blocked), 11:05
DWU: Gus Scott 18 pass from Jenson (pass failed), 1:22
Fourth quarter
DSU: Jovi Wolf 25 pass from Hettick (Hamann kick), 14:10
DWU: Kilbride 15 pass from Jenson (Steven Christion pass from Jenson), 10:47
DSU: Ford 9 pass from Hettick (Hamann kick), 7:51
DWU: Christion 15 pass from Jenson (Hallgren kick), 1:43
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