Doane drops road contest at No. 8 Dordt

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – Doane football faced its third straight nationally ranked opponent on Saturday afternoon in Sioux Center, where the NAIA No. 8 Dordt Defenders (4-0, 4-0 GPAC) lived up to their billing and coasted to a 38-3 victory over the Tigers (1-5, 1-4 GPAC). 

Dordt is well known for its option offense and strong ground game, and while that was certainly an aspect of the game Saturday, on offense the Defenders employed a passing attack that was more powerful than usual – Kolson Kruse threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns, aided largely by a huge game from receiver Kaden Harken, who finished with 217 yards on ten catches and two touchdowns.  

Doane held Dordt to 226 yards on the ground – that feels like a lot, but it’s well below Dordt’s average of 306 from over their first three games. Part of that was the Defenders’ change in approach on offense, but part of it was due to Doane’s run defense, which has been one of its strong suits this season. 

On offense, the Tigers were shorthanded, and that’s putting it lightly. Both top quarterback Sam Hartman and top running back James Miles were held out of the game after picking up injuries last week against Northwestern, leading to transfer quarterback Zach Fredenburg making his first start as a Tiger. Derek Silva took over in the second half in his collegiate debut. 

Doane put together a good first drive Saturday but eventually stalled out with a turnover on downs, and was unable to move the ball the rest of the day until the final drive when Kelen Meyer, who had already had a brilliant day punting, faked a punt on 4th and long, picking up the first down with a 13-yard run. That kept Doane’s final drive alive, and he was eventually rewarded with a field goal try, which he nailed from 27 yards out in the final 30 seconds of the game to help the Tigers snap Dordt’s shutout plans – the Defenders still prevailed with a comfortable 38-3 win to stay undefeated in 2024. 

That finally brings to an end an extremely trying stretch of three games for the Tigers, who have had to face three of the very programs not just in their conference but in this level of college football over the last half decade just in the span of the last three weeks. None of those three games (at Morningside, vs. Northwestern, and at Dordt), all of which were against teams ranked in the NAIA’s Top 15 at the time, ended up particularly pretty, so the Tigers will now turn their attention to the home stretch of the season which, while no cakewalk, must be a more appetizing prospect than this middle gauntlet has been.  

The home stretch of the 2024 season begins with Doane’s longest road trip of the year – up to Mitchell, South Dakota to take on a familiar face on the other Tigers’ coaching staff. Kickoff between Doane and DWU is scheduled for 1 PM; as always, you can listen to the game live on Ol’ Red 99.5 or online, with pregame coverage starting at 12:30.