Nebraska Wesleyan rushed for a season-high 257 yards as the Prairie Wolves ran past Dordt, 45-19, in Great Plains Athletic Conference football action on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 15) at Abel Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.

NWU evens their record at 3-3 overall and improves to 2-3 in GPAC play while Dordt falls to 1-6, 0-6 GPAC.

It was a breakout game for the Prairie Wolves offense after they had been held out of the endzone the past two contests, averaging less than 100 yards of total offense. NWU finished with 405 yards of total offense, with 257 on the ground and 148 through the air.

Dordt got on the board first as Daniel Fennig scored on a 1-yard run with 0:22 seconds left in the first quarter to put the Defenders up 7-0. It was the first time in four games that Dordt had ever scored on the Prairie Wolves.

NWU wasted little time to answer back as Cody Eiler took the ensuing kickoff and raced 89 yards for the touchdown to tie the game.

From there, the Prairie Wolves would score 35 unanswered points, scoring on four consecutive possessions in the first half.

After the kickoff return by Eiler on the next offensive possession Taylor Stockamp sprinted 35 yards up the middle to paydirt. Freshman Nate Jones then got in the scoring column as he had a 5-yard rushing touchdown on the next drive. The final score of the first half was a one-play drive with quarterback Ethan Myers hitting a wide open Joe Manley for a 38-yard TD strike to put Nebraska Wesleyan up 28-7 at halftime.

To open the second half Myers got NWU on the board again as he took a bootleg and ran it into the endzone from 9-yards out.

Dordt finally ended the scoring drought when Aaron Ricks intercepted Myers and took it to the endzone from 34 yards out.

In the fourth quarter, Steven Anderson hit a 42-yard field goal to put NWU ahead 38-13. The final score of the game came with just over five minutes left in the game as Myers hit Brian Pieper for a 10-yard TD pass as Pieper kept his toes inside the endzone.

Trai Pickney broke a 63-yard TD run late in the game for the Defenders to make the final score 45-19.

Making his first career start, quarterback Ethan Myers had a solid performance going 15-23 for 148 yards with two touchdowns while rushing nine times for 40 yards and a touchdown.

It was running back by committee for the Prairie Wolves in the 257-yard rushing effort. Fullback Tim Immonen led the way with 55 yards on just seven carries. Taylor Stockamp carried six times for 53 yards, Myers had 40 yards and Nate Jones had 34 yards with a touchdown. Dustin Bryant made his first appearance since week one and rushed eight times for 33 yards.

Matt Edwards led the way with four catches for 32 yards while Joe Manley caught three passes for 63.

NWU defense was all over the Dordt backfield recording five total sacks in the game. Phil Latimer and Taylor Tekolste both had two sacks, while Russell Walton had one. Sheldon Bouwens led the team with six total tackles.