Endres scores three times in Tigers' win over Dakota State

• Endres

(Luke Hagen/Republic) DWU running back Josh Endres looks to get a block from teammate Skyler Eriksen during the first half of a game against Dakota State Saturday evening at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell.

Talk about it

While Josh Endres was sprinting for a touchdown, Ross Cimpl was screaming at his defense.

"To be quite honest, I barely even saw him score," said Cimpl, DWU's first-year head coach, after he picked up his first win when his Dakota Wesleyan University football team beat Dakota State 40-14 Saturday in a nonconference game.

Cimpl's voice could be heard clearly through much of Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell, and he wasn't happy. The Tigers gave up an 81-yard trick-play, half-back pass touchdown on the first play of the game.

He sat his defense down on the bench and was yelling at the top of his lungs, and Endres ran for the first of his three touchdowns, a 75-yarder that tied the game at 7.

Endres, an Ethan native, sprinted through the middle of the offensive line for the Tigers' first score of the season.

Almost immediately after, Dakota State quarterback Brandon Large fired an 82-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-7 to take the lead again.

Cimpl this time, walked over to his defense and was more calm with his approach. He didn't raise his voice, but told his team to relax.

"I'm not sure which way (of talking to them) works best," Cimpl said, referring to yelling or calmly talking. "I don't know if they listen to me ever. I just wanted to make sure guys were ready to go."

DWU's offense went on a 13-play, 68-yard drive and again tied the game with another Endres score. From there, the defense never allowed another Trojan touchdown.

"It was like a track meet right away," DSU head coach Josh Anderson said of the game's first nine minutes.

Defensive back Andrew DeVaney forced a fumble on DSU's ensuing drive, and the Tigers took almost no time to score.

They recovered on DSU's 26-yard line, and got a 11-yard pass from Jon Bane to Arthur Brown four plays later to lead 21-14.

The Trojans punted on their next possession and Endres ran for a 69-yard score to go up 27-14. The senior captain finished with 24 carries for 213 yards, totaling his career rushing mark to 2,280 yards. He also has 209 career points for Wesleyan, third most in school history.

Dakota Wesleyan, which played without preseason All-American wideout Anthony Muilenburg, scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, but then went cold in the middle of the game.

Neither team scored in the second and third quarters after a total of 41 points were added to the scoreboard in the first 15 minutes.

That was good for the Tigers' defense, but the offense dropped into a long lul.

It took until two plays into the fourth, on third-and-2, when Bane fired a bullet to Michael Brown for a 62-yard touchdown for Wesleyan's final offensive touchdown.

Two plays into the Trojans' next possession, it was DWU's defense that scored.

Linebacker Anthony Cervantes stepped in front of a pass from Large for an interception and ran 25 yards for a touchdown.

"We put down the clamp and we know we've got a team that can really do that," said Cervantes, who was one of the many impressed with Endres' performance.

"He brings it every day," he added.

Anderson admitted after the game his team struggles with stopping the run, but talked at length about Endres, who had 183 yards before halftime.

"His vision is fantastic," Anderson said. "He waits for a hole to open up and he hits it. He has good patience. He's a hard-nosed runner, and that's exactly what you want in your backfield. If you don't touch him, he's gone."

Bane finished with 211 yards through the air with one touchdown, and Arthur Brown was the Tigers' leading receiver with seven catches for 40 yards and Michael Brown had four catches for 94 yards.

DWU's defense, which recorded five sacks, forced seven punts, two interceptions, one fumble and two turnovers on downs after giving up 14 points right away.

Wesleyan (1-0) travels to play Concordia next week at 1 p.m. Saturday in Seward, Neb., in the Tigers' first Great Plains Athletic Conference game of the year.

Scoring summary

First quarter

DSU: Zach Ely 81 pass from Carl Curtis (Nic Behrens kick)

DWU: Josh Endres 75 run (Dan Porter kick)

DSU: Stacey Berg 82 pass from Brandon Large (Behrens kick)

DWU: Endres 7 run (Porter kick)

DWU: Arthur Brown 11 pass from Jon Bane (Porter kick)

DWU: Endres 69 run (Porter kick failed)

Fourth quarter

DWU: Michael Brown 60 pass from Bane (Porter kick)

DWU: Anthony Cervantes 25 interception return (Porter kick failed)

Individual statistics

Rushing: DWU — Josh Endres 24-213; Arthur Brown 5-16; Francois Barnaud 2-15; Jon Bane 3-(-3). Total: 34-241. DSU — Kris Derie 13-59; Michael Williams 9-29; Wes Dauz 1-3; John Niesen 1-1; Weston Hoglund 2-(-1); Brandon Large 11-(-17). Total: 37-74.

Passing: DWU — Jon Bane 16-23-0-211; DSU — Brandon Large 11-24-2-197; Carl Curtis 1-1-0-81.

Receiving: DWU — Arthur Brown 7-40; Michael Brown 4-94; 2-12; Mitche Breen 1-47; Cody Duerksen 1-11; Francois Barnaud 1-7. Totals: 16-211. DSU — Stacey Berg 5-155; Wes Dauz 2-20; Carl Curtis 2-4; Zach Ely 1-81; John Niesen 1-17; Marshall Doeden 1-1. Totals: 12-278.

Defensive: DWU — Anthony Cervantes 6.5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, interception; Brady Bonte 6 tackles, 1 sack; Dustin Bergmeier 5.5 tackles, 1 forced fumble; Andrew DeVaney fumble recovery; Levi Sheldon interception. DSU — Craig Hertz 9.5 tackles; Eric Liles 7.5 tackles; Team fumble recovery, forced fumble.

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