Offensive woes plague Iowa Wesleyan

MT. PLEASANT — Iowa Wesleyan football put on a defensive clinic Saturday afternoon against Dakota State, but the Tigers could never get any offensive mojo going as they fell 12-6 to the Trojans.

Iowa Wesleyan got a defensive stop to start the game, forcing Dakota State to punt, but the Tigers couldn’t conjure that same success offensively.

Things didn’t start great for Iowa Wesleyan on the offensive end as it was forced to punt on its first drive. Things got worse on the punt as the Tigers punter, Max Paskowitz was hit before he was able to get the kick off putting the Trojans on the Tigers nine-yard line.

Not too much damage was done as the Tiger defense was able to push the Trojans backward to force a field goal from 24-yards out putting the Trojans up 3-0.

Field goals would be the norm in the contest as the two teams would combined for six field goals total.

Iowa Wesleyan had to punt once again on its ensuing drive and Dakota State took the ball 56-yards down the field all the way to the Tigers eight-yard line.

The Tiger defense answered the call once again as they forced another field goal to limit the deficit to 6-0.

On their next drive, the Tigers got into Trojan territory for the first time, but were stalled out at the 44-yard line as they failed to convert a 4th and one.

The offensive struggles continued as on the next two drives, Iowa Wesleyan would turn the ball over on downs once again and were forced to punt.

As for Dakota State, the Trojans put up two more field goals, splitting the upright from 20 and 49-yards out to put themselves up 12-0.

Both teams went back and forth in the late moments of the first half and the Tigers had to punt once against, but a 4th and 10 defensive stop gave Iowa Wesleyan the ball back with 51 second to go in the half.

Iowa Wesleyan was able to put together an efficient drive, as Zach Chevalier connected with Terrell Holt twice, which included a 4th and 10, and Asaivien McWilliams on their way down to the Trojan 19.

Lucas Mosqueda was able to put the ball through the upright with one second left on the clock, making it a 12-3 ballgame going into halftime.

To start the second half, neither team could get their offense going, as the first four drives were all scoreless.

The Tigers were able to finally get some positive ground, marching 49-yards down the field to the Dakota State 24-yard line. The ground made was quickly gone as the Tigers were picked off at the seven-yard line with 1:09 left in the third.

Iowa Wesleyan got the ball back after forcing Dakota State to punt once again, but the Tigers reciprocated and some.

As Paskowitz was going to punt, the Trojan defense was able to get a hand up to block the punt, putting them in Iowa Wesleyan territory at the 39-yard line.

The defense stepped up big for the Tigers once again though, as Joseph Pace was able to get his hands on the ball for an interception of which he returned 42 yards to the Dakota State 45-yard line. Pace was brought down by his face mask, which tacked on another 15 yards.

Iowa Wesleyan went just 11 yards in seven play on the ensuing offensive drive, but Mosqueda was able to make it a six point game, 12-6, with a 35-yard field goal and 7:58 on the clock.

Both teams punted on their next drive, and the Trojans got the ball with 1:50 left in the game. The Tiger had two timeouts.

Iowa Wesleyan was able to hold Dakota State and force a punt, but they had but just 36 second left after burning their two timeouts on the Trojan drive.

The Tigers had a shot, but Chevalier was sacked to start the drive and after spiking the ball on second down, he was picked off on third down to end it.

The Tigers fall to 4-6 on the season and 2-3 in the North Star.

Zach Chevalier finished with 16 completions on 36 attempts for 141 yards. The Tigers were led on the ground by Askia Moses with 29 yards on nine carries. Asaivien McWilliams led the Tigers in receiving with six receptions for 60 yards.

Lucas Mosqueda went two for two on field goals.

Defensively, Major Niccum finished with 16 tackles, five of them being solo tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Moses Eason also finished with 11 tackles for the Tigers. Joseph Pace added an interception with 42 return yards, eight tackles, and two tackles for loss.

The Tigers will be back in action for their final regular season game of the year as they travel to Forest City, Iowa to take on the Waldorf University Warriors with kickoff at 3 p.m.