The Dordt College football team ended the 2017 season with a 58-37 win over Briar Cliff in Sioux Center on an overcast Saturday afternoon.
The Defenders never trailed but were unable to put away the pesky Charger team that entered play without a win.
Dordt scored three plays into the game with a Brock Lamle to Levi Jungling 29 yard touchdown pass. Dordt took a 7-0 lead and held the Chargers to a punt but Dordt mishandled the punt and Briar Cliff recovered the fumble and proceeded to go the remaining 33 yards on ten plays and cut the lead to 7-6 but failed on the point after try.
The teams proceeded to swap touchdowns on the next five possessions. Jungling had runs of two and one yard and Levi Schoonhoven had a 15 yard charge to cap drives of 64, 72 and 39 yards. Briar Cliff had drives of 75 and 92 yards to keep pace and trailed 28-20.
The Defenders made it a two-score lead with a 22 yard run by Jungling to finish a 77 yard drive. The Defenders led 35-20 but Briar Cliff had a 6 play, 73 yard drive to close the half and make it 35-27 at the break.
Briar Cliff’s first drive of the second half resulted in a 25 yard field goal and a 35-30 deficit. Keithen Drury carried the bulk of the load on the next drive and plowed in from 11 yards out to cap a 59 yard drive.
Briar Cliff would get back to within 43-37 with a four yard run to finish the 57 yard drive with 3:41 left in the third quarter.
Dordt put the game out of reach with drives of 58 and 57 yards. The first drive culminated with a Jungling 20 yard run with 2:05 left in the third quarter. Jungling’s score was his fourth rushing touchdown of the game.
Dordt’s defense forced five interceptions in the second half and was able to finish the game with a Levi Schoonhoven for 13 yards with 1:54 left and Arie Hoekstra picked off his third pass of the day on the final play of the game.
