Nebraska Wesleyan got its third straight victory of the season and evened their overall record as they defeated arch rival Doane College, 34-14, in GPAC football action on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 30) in Crete, Neb.

With the win, NWU improves to 4-4 overall. They also tie the historic series with rival Doane as the all-time series is now deadlocked at 45-45-6.

It was the Prairie Wolves rushing game that was key to the big victory for NWU. Nebraska Wesleyan rushed for a season-high 286 yards averaging 5.7 yards per carry.

NWU jumped ahead 7-0 in the first quarter as Steve Fricke capped off a 70-yard drive with a one-yard TD plunge on the second series of the game.

On the Prairie Wolves next offensive possession in the second quarter, Nate Hauptman connected with Dalton Thyfault for a 11-yard TD reception, giving Thyfault his first career reception.

Doane used a no-huddle offense to drive 82 yards right before the half and scored on a 1 yard touchdown run by Jaremy Puthoff to make the score 14-7 at halftime.

NWU got back on track in the second half as Matt Sharkey got an 8-yard TD run to give NWU a two touchdown lead. Doane came right back on their next possession to go 67 yards as Anthony Dunn found Eamonn Feeney for a 24 yard touchdown to make the score 21-14 at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Steven Anderson converted a pair of field goals from 27 and 35 yards to put the Prairie Wolves up 27-14.

Jerry Lobeda capped off the big day on the ground as he busted off a 50-yard touchdown run to seal the victory.

Lobeda led the NWU ground attack with 95 yards on nine carries with a TD. Sharkey had 65 yards on 11 carries with a TD, and freshman Dustin Bryant had 61 yards on 10 carries.

Nate Hauptman finished 9-17 for 87 yards with a touchdown and was not intercepted for the first time all season.

Nebraska Wesleyan will take their three-game winning streak into next Saturday's big matchup with nationally-ranked Midland University.