DWU football gameday: Tigers host Hastings to open GPAC play
Sep. 1—MITCHELL — The Dakota Wesleyan University football team will play a Saturday morning contest this week, hosting Hastings at Joe Quintal Field to open Great Plains Athletic Conference action.
Here's what to know ahead of DWU's second contest of the season:
When: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Joe Quintal Field.
Records: DWU 1-0; Hastings 1-0.
Coaches: DWU's Ross Cimpl, 60-59, 12th season; Hastings' Matt Franzen, 10-13, 3rd season.
All-time series: Hastings leads the series, 19-10.
Last meeting: Hastings won 32-13 on Sept. 24, 2022 in a contest that saw the Broncos score the first 23 points in the opening 20 minutes of game time.
Last time out: Dakota Wesleyan starts the season at 1-0 for the first time since 2015 with a win over Dakota State in Mitchell 23-13 on Aug. 26. Hastings earned a dramatic road win over Peru State 37-31 in overtime on Aug. 26, scoring 23 unanswered points in the final 3:53 of regulation and overtime to rally out of a 31-14 deficit.
Notes: Kickoff has been moved up to 11 a.m. in order to avoid the heat of the day on Saturday, with an expected high temperature of 99, with winds expected to gust up to 20 mph. ... It's been good to be at home in this series. The home team has won six consecutive games between DWU and HC, with the Tigers earning the last road win between the teams, a 39-20 win at Hastings in 2016.
About the Tigers: A win would give DWU a 2-0 start to the season for the first time since 2015, when the Tigers started 5-0. Counting the 2022-ending win over Mount Marty, a win would also be the Tigers' first three-game win streak since the end of 2020 ... The Tigers' interceptions from Joe Van Overschelde and Adam DeJong continued a streak of eight games with a pick of an opposing quarterback. ... Against Dakota State, the Tigers yielded only 74 rushing yards, lower than any total in 2022. ... DWU's last six wins have come at Joe Quintal Field, with the Tigers last winning a road game in 2021.
About the Broncos: Hastings was 5-1 in early October last season but lost three of its final five games of the season to finish 7-4. ... HC took the nation's third-fewest penalties in 2022 (36 penalties in 11 games). ... The Broncos were selected to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll in the GPAC. ... Brett Simonsen rushed for three touchdowns on 27 carries and 83 yards, and receiver Ethan Wilborn had two touchdown catches on an 89-yard day last week.
Next: For DWU, the Tigers play their first road game of the season, visiting Crete, Nebraska for a 1 p.m. Sept. 9 game at Doane. Hastings will face No. 4-ranked Morningside at home on Sept. 9.
GPAC schedule / results
Saturday, Sept. 2
Jamestown at Midland, 1 p.m.
Northwestern at Concordia (Neb.), 1 p.m.
Briar Cliff at Mount Marty, 7 p.m.
Dordt at Doane, 7 p.m.
