GPAC

[Football] No. 1 Morningside Holds Off Football in Second Half

Doane Football closed out their home slate of games on Saturday with a meeting against No. 1 Morningside. The Tigers had the home crowd thinking upset through the first 30 minutes of play, however, the visitors were able to pull away in the final half for a 42-10 win. The point total for the top-ranked Mustangs was their lowest output of the season.Morningside started the game with the ball and drove down field into Tiger territory. With first down on the 33, the Mustangs had four straight incomplete passes as they turned the ball over on downs. Cooper Bates (SO/Wilber, Neb.) broke up a pass attempt on fourth down.The Tiger offense was forced into a 3-and-out and the Mustangs once again drove the field. Doane's defense stepped up inside the red zone and forced a 30-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by Joshua Delgado (SR/Lincoln, Neb.). Doane again went 3-and-out and Morningside took over inside Tiger territory following the punt return.As the teams switched sides following the quarter break in a 0-0 tie, Morningside had the ball with 1st-and-goal. Following a holding penalty, the Mustangs were able to get into the end zone on a 9-yard pass.Doane took their first drive of the 2nd quarter and marked 62 yards before a pair of sacks would force the Tigers to attempt a 41-yard field goal. Bryce Cooney (SR/Omaha, Neb.) delivered by splitting the uprights to pull Doane within four points at 7-3.Morningside started with the ball at the 35-yard line following a kick out-of-bounds. The Mustangs went 65 yards on four plays, capped by a 35-yard touchdown pass to extend their lead to 14-3.Doane was held to a 3-and-out and forced to punt, setting Morningside up near midfield. The Mustangs drove the field and on 4th-and-4, they elected to go for the 1st down at the 12 yard line. Quarterback Joe Dolincheck threw a pass towards the end zone and Damond Brown (JR/Phoenix, Ariz.) cut in front of the intended receiver for an interception to stop the Mustang drive.On the Tigers' first play, they drew a pass interference call which moved the ball to the Tiger-39. Unfortunately, three incompletions later Doane was forced to punt while running of 25 seconds of clock. Levi Sudbeck (SR/Hadar, Neb.) boomed a 40-yard punt into the wind which gave the Mustangs the ball at the 21-yard line.Dolincheck completed three straight passes to take Morningside out near midfield. On the fourth play of the drive, Doane's Connor O'Toole (SR/Wilber, Neb.) broke up a pass and Garrett Fries (SR/Indianola, Neb.) picked off the deflected ball and raced down to the 9-yard line to give the Tigers 1st-and-goal with 50 seconds left in the half. Two incomplete passes and a false start penalty set-up 3rd down from the 14-yard line for the Tigers. Drake Davidson (JR/Moberly, Mo.) found one-on-one coverage in the Mustang secondary and tossed a jump ball up for Izaiah Celestine (JR/Stockton, Calif.) and the Tigers' wide receiver reached up over the corner back and pulled the ball in for a touchdown. The extra point had the Tigers back within four points at 14-10 when the teams went to the locker rooms for halftime.The second half would belong to the Mustangs as they held Doane to a pair of first downs in the final 30 minutes of play. The drive that would give Morningside the breathing room they needed came midway into the 3rd quarter. Following a Doane punt that pinned the Mustangs at their 7-yard line, Morningside drove 93 yards on 18 plays for a touchdown to take a 28-10 lead.Doane was limited to 124 yards of total offense, throwing for 128 but rushing for minus-4 yards. Tanner Crosley (JR/Crofton, Neb.) and Jamaine Derogene (JR/Dunedin, Florida) led Doane with seven yards rushing apiece. Brandon Gannon (SR/Grand Island, Neb.) caught five passes for 55 yards. Celestine had four receptions for 41 yards and Josh Baker (JR/Omaha, Neb.) posted three catches for 32 yards.Defensively, Fries led the Tigers with 13 tackles to go with his interception return of 42 yards. Warren Horne (JR/Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) posted 11 tackles and two pass break-ups. Ryan Schuter notched 10 tackles with one tackle for loss.Doane will close out their season next weekend as they travel to Fremont to take on Midland at 1 PM.