DWU lead their Great Plains Athletic Conference opening with Hastings 17-3 late in the third quarter, but the Broncos gained ground as the game went on.
MICHELL— On a nearly 100-degree Saturday at Joe Quintal Field, a snowball effect hit the Dakota Wesleyan football game at the wrong time.
DWU led its Great Plains Athletic Conference opening with Hastings 17-3 late in the third quarter, but Hastings scored the final 21 points to win 24-17 in overtime.
Ethan Wilborn grabbed an Eli Nappe touchdown throw in the endzone with 1:08 left to pull within two points and score on a two-point conversion run to tie the game.
The Broncos took the lead in overtime when Nappe scored from a yard out, and Sam Ahl intercepted a tipped pass from Tigers' Austin Lee on the first offensive play for DWU to seal the win.
Hastings' second consecutive dramatic comeback follows last week's OT win over Peru State after trailing by 17 points with 4 minutes left.
“We knew they weren’t going to quit and they didn’t,” DWU coach Ross Cimpl said of Hastings’ rally.
But for us, it was significant mistakes. We ran into the punter, intercepted in the red zone, and missed a field goal.
Critical blunders in one play on all three game aspects. None of it can happen. We led for three and a half quarters, but that doesn't win the game."
Gio Mendoza faked a punt run for 17 yards with Hastings at its 25-yard line on a fourth-and-10, but an illegal crackback block voided the play, repeating fourth down.