Sioux Falls runs away from Doane
CRETE — Get it out of the way quickly.
Sioux Falls, the Warren Buffett of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, was the winner for the 68th time in its last 69 conference games with a 37-7 victory against Doane College on Saturday at Simon Field.
Sioux Falls, winner of 28 consecutive conference games and 12 conference titles since 1994 and two-time NAIA national champion, is still a stock on the rise.
Lorenzo Brown, the second-ranked Cougars’ starting quarterback, scored on two runs, led his team with 68 yards rushing on 10 carries and passed for 133 yards.
The USF defense, which had allowed just two touchdowns this year, held Doane to 94 yards of total offense.
“Well, we had some penalties that we need to get away from and Doane hung in there and slugged it out all game long,” said fourth-year Sioux Falls coach Kalen DeBoer, who has a record of 63-3. “When we get in a rhythm on offense we play well. And our defense is something that we can hang our hat on. And our second string is pretty good and kind of wore down Doane.
“I guess I’m pretty happy. But you know the expectations around our program are so darn high. That’s good. We were upset we gave up a touchdown. That’s those expectations again.”
For Doane (2-3 overall and 1-3 in the GPAC) there were a few bright spots.
The Tigers gave up a touchdown on a fumbled snap but held Sioux Falls to a 16-0 halftime lead. Doane also became the first team to post positive rushing yards against the Cougars this year, with 35 on the ground — that’s 39.5 yards more than Sioux Falls’ first four opponents averaged.
“We go in at halftime and figure our defense has given up just nine points to the best team in our conference and certainly one of the best in the country,” Doane coach Matt Franzen said. “We talked about how a score early in the second half had us right in the game. But Sioux Falls being Sioux Falls drove right down the field, very methodically, and made it 23-0.
“Meanwhile, their defense is the best I’ve seen in NAIA football in my 13 years of coaching at this level,” he said. “Their linebackers are great. They have so much speed. They throw a blitz at us, and we figure our short pass routes should be wide-open and here comes the safeties and we get 4 yards.
“We blitz. They run the same play and a guy is wide-open and getting 15 yards and more.”
Sioux Falls drove 73 yards in 15 plays to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Ryan Lowmiller to open the second half. The Cougars scored on a Brown run to open the fourth quarter and on a touchdown pass from backup Bret Beachner to Erik Cimpl with 10:21 left in the game.
Doane finally cracked the Sioux Falls defense for a 41-yard touchdown pass from J.R. Artozqui to Antony Ritton with 8:32 left. Doane became only the second team to score on Sioux Falls this year.
“Doane has come a long way from last year and the last couple of years,” DeBoer said. “Before, it seemed like they were amped up for the first drive. We’d score and they’d try to survive for 58 minutes. This time, we scored, but they kept fighting and hitting and they’re going to be a tough team in this conference.”
Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.
Sioux Falls, the Warren Buffett of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, was the winner for the 68th time in its last 69 conference games with a 37-7 victory against Doane College on Saturday at Simon Field.
Sioux Falls, winner of 28 consecutive conference games and 12 conference titles since 1994 and two-time NAIA national champion, is still a stock on the rise.
Lorenzo Brown, the second-ranked Cougars’ starting quarterback, scored on two runs, led his team with 68 yards rushing on 10 carries and passed for 133 yards.
The USF defense, which had allowed just two touchdowns this year, held Doane to 94 yards of total offense.
“Well, we had some penalties that we need to get away from and Doane hung in there and slugged it out all game long,” said fourth-year Sioux Falls coach Kalen DeBoer, who has a record of 63-3. “When we get in a rhythm on offense we play well. And our defense is something that we can hang our hat on. And our second string is pretty good and kind of wore down Doane.
“I guess I’m pretty happy. But you know the expectations around our program are so darn high. That’s good. We were upset we gave up a touchdown. That’s those expectations again.”
For Doane (2-3 overall and 1-3 in the GPAC) there were a few bright spots.
The Tigers gave up a touchdown on a fumbled snap but held Sioux Falls to a 16-0 halftime lead. Doane also became the first team to post positive rushing yards against the Cougars this year, with 35 on the ground — that’s 39.5 yards more than Sioux Falls’ first four opponents averaged.
“We go in at halftime and figure our defense has given up just nine points to the best team in our conference and certainly one of the best in the country,” Doane coach Matt Franzen said. “We talked about how a score early in the second half had us right in the game. But Sioux Falls being Sioux Falls drove right down the field, very methodically, and made it 23-0.
“Meanwhile, their defense is the best I’ve seen in NAIA football in my 13 years of coaching at this level,” he said. “Their linebackers are great. They have so much speed. They throw a blitz at us, and we figure our short pass routes should be wide-open and here comes the safeties and we get 4 yards.
“We blitz. They run the same play and a guy is wide-open and getting 15 yards and more.”
Sioux Falls drove 73 yards in 15 plays to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Ryan Lowmiller to open the second half. The Cougars scored on a Brown run to open the fourth quarter and on a touchdown pass from backup Bret Beachner to Erik Cimpl with 10:21 left in the game.
Doane finally cracked the Sioux Falls defense for a 41-yard touchdown pass from J.R. Artozqui to Antony Ritton with 8:32 left. Doane became only the second team to score on Sioux Falls this year.
“Doane has come a long way from last year and the last couple of years,” DeBoer said. “Before, it seemed like they were amped up for the first drive. We’d score and they’d try to survive for 58 minutes. This time, we scored, but they kept fighting and hitting and they’re going to be a tough team in this conference.”
Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.
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