Iowa Wesleyan football scores quick, fades out

MADISON, S.D. — The Iowa Wesleyan football team exploded out of the gates on Saturday at Dakota State, but as the game went on, the young Tigers couldn’t keep up in a 53-15 loss.

After punting on their first drive, the Tigers opened the scoring with a huge defensive play.

On 3rd-and-long, Iowa Wesleyan’s Kaylan Galvao blasted Trojan quarterback Ja'Sem Atonio and the ball squirted out. Kendal Parker scooped the ball up and ran it 27 yards back to the end zone for a touchdown.

Iowa Wesleyan led 6-0 after a missed extra point, but the Tiger offense would push that lead to two possessions when it next touched the ball. Gavin Esquivel nailed Damian Tanelus on a 15-yard touchdown pass to stretch the advantage to 12-0.

That’s when it all began to go wrong.

On the ensuing kickoff, Dakota State’s Jay Skogerboe returned the ball 81 yards for a special teams score. That was the spark of a 53-3 Trojan run.

The Tigers did lead 12-7 after one quarter and stretched that lead to 15-7 early in the second quarter, but the Trojans scored the next 46, and led 25-15 at halftime and 32-15 after three quarters before pouring it on in the fourth.

Esquivel went 22-for-42 for 233 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the loss. Jaden Harris led the receivers with five catches for 77 yards.

The Tiger defense was paced by Major Niccum’s 11 tackles. Chris Hawthrone and Joseph Pace both forced fumbles for the Iowa Wesleyan defense, but the only Tiger take-away was Parker’s scoop-and-score in the first quarter.

Iowa Wesleyan is now 1-7 overall, and 0-3 in the North Star Athletic Association. They’ll host Presentation College (0-8, 0-5) this Saturday at Bracewell Stadium in Burlington. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.