Nebraska Wesleyan blocked a punt and took an early 3-0 lead, but top-ranked Sioux Falls responded with 44 unanswered points as the Cougars beat the Prairie Wolves, 44-3 in the 2009 season opener in Great Plains Athletic Conference football action Saturday night (Sept. 5) in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Prairie Wolves had the ball 1st & goal at the two yard line after the blocked punt, but penalties forced NWU back and Zach Egger converted a 41-yard field goal for the only points of the game.

The NWU offense was shut down as the powerful USF defense held the Prairie Wolves to just 28 yards of total offense. Nebraska Wesleyan had 14 rushing yards and 14 passing yards.

Meanwhile, Sioux Falls had 435 yards of total offense in a very balanced attack with 234 yards rushing and 201 yards passing. The Cougars dominated the time of possession, controlling the ball for 40:36 to just 19:24 for NWU.

All-American quarterback Lorenzo Brown was 18-27 for 187 yards with 2 touchdowns, while adding two rushing touchdowns. Ryan Lowmiller led the USF ground attack with 137 yards and a touchdown.

For NWU, the yards were held to a minimum by the stiff USF defense that led the country last season. Matt Hagge was just 5-16 for 14 yards with an interception. On the ground, Steve Fricke led the way with eight yards while starter Kory Kahlandt had 10 carries for six yards.

The NWU defense held tough in the first half as the game was just 13-3 despite NWU giving Sioux Falls the ball twice on fumbles. In the end, the defense was just on the field too much. Garrett Rippen led NWU with 14 total tackles, while Cameron Kolling had 12 tackles with two tackles-for-loss.

Nebraska Wesleyan will look to bounce back next Saturday (Sept. 12) when they host Dakota Wesleyan in the home opener at 1 pm at Abel Stadium. 19th-ranked DWU lost 56-21 to No. 5 Morningside in their opener.