DWU football gameday: Tigers host Dordt for Senior Day home finale

Nov. 6—MITCHELL — Dakota Wesleyan University will wrap up the home portion of the 2026 football schedule on Saturday with a ranked opponent once more, hosting No. 11 Dordt at Joe Quintal Field on Senior Day. The Tigers, with a 4-5 overall record and a 4-4 record in Great Plains Athletic Conference play, will play a ranked opponent for the fifth time this season, the most on a Tiger schedule since 2017. After DWU won the first nine matchups all-time against the Defenders, Dordt has won eight straight meetings. Here's a look at DWU's matchup on Saturday: When: 1 p.m. Saturday Where: Joe Quintal Field Records: DWU 4-5 (4-4 GPAC); Dordt 7-2 (7-1 GPAC) Coaches: DWU's Alex Kretzschmar (12-19, third season); Dordt's Joel Penner (80-35, 11th season) All-time series: DWU leads the series 9-8. Last meeting: Dordt won by a score of 66-7 on Sept. 6, 2025, in Sioux Center, Iowa. Last time out: DWU fell 38-3 last week to No. 14 Northwestern in Mitchell. Dordt is coming off an 80-14 win in Sioux Center over Waldorf. Notes: Since the series started in 2008, DWU won the first nine matchups, and the Defenders have won eight games in a row in the series since 2018. ... Last season's 66-7 Defenders victory was the largest margin in the series. ... Dordt is ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA Massey Ratings, while DWU checks in at No. 44. ... The latest edition of the NAIA's Football Performance Indicator, which assigns a point value for the strength of every win and loss this season, has Dordt at No. 19 and DWU at No. 49. ... Dordt is also ranked No. 11 in the NAIA's national selection committee rankings this week. About DWU: DWU ranks No. 2 nationally with 17 defensive interceptions as a team. The Tigers have 24 defensive takeaways, which is third-best in the country, but have committed 21 giveaways for a turnover margin of plus-three. ... DWU punter Wyatt Bult is sixth in the country for most individual punts with 50 this season. ... Jackson Jarding ranks No. 5 nationally with three forced fumbles this season, two off the national lead. ... DWU completed only six passes in the loss to Northwestern last week, the fewest in a game for the Tigers since a 2019 loss to Briar Cliff in which DWU had four completions. ... The Tiger defense has been stout in the red zone this season, allowing only 24 touchdowns on 40 opponent trips inside the 20. About Dordt: Saturday's matchup is between the two least-penalized teams in NAIA football. Dordt has committed 31 penalties in nine games this season, while DWU has been flagged 32 times this season. ... Defenders receiver Kaden Harken is one of four receivers in the NAIA with at least 1,000 yards this season, ranking third with 1,008 yards through the air and 14 touchdowns, which is second-best in the NAIA. ... Dordt is sixth in the NAIA at 7.5 yards per play on offense and No. 8 in the country in scoring offense at 44.9 points per game. The Defenders are the only team in the country this season to score on every red zone possession (41-for-41 with 34 touchdowns). ... Linebacker Isaac Kacmarynski is the national leader in total tackles with 103 on the season. Next: DWU will close the regular season on Nov. 14 at Mount Marty in Yankton. Dordt will play its rivalry game at No. 13 Northwestern on Nov. 14. GPAC schedule Saturday, Nov. 7 Midland at Doane, 1 p.m. Morningside at Hastings, 1 p.m. Concordia at Briar Cliff, 1 p.m. Mount Marty at Waldorf, 3 p.m.