Football Season Ends in NAIA Playoffs
The football team saw their season come to an end on Saturday in the NAIA Championship Series First Round playoff game with a 16-14 loss to No. 8 Tabor College. The Tigers finish with a 9-2 record on the season, the most wins for a team since the 1997 season.
After each team opened with a 3-and-out, Tabor put together an 18-play drive to cover 70 yards for a 22-yard field goal to go in front, 3-0. The Bluejays converted on 3rd down three times on the drive and were aided by a pass interference penalty on a 4th down play.
The Tigers took over near midfield on their next possession but two plays into their drive, an interception gave Tabor the ball back. The Bluejays used eight plays to go 51 yards to score a touchdown, converting on third down twice. The point after was blocked, leaving Tabor up 9-0.
Doane found a quick answer on their next drive, needing only three plays to cover 55 yards. The drive started on the Doane 45 following a 31-yard kickoff return by Drew Klein (SO/Papillion, Neb.). On third down, Jack Shadley (SO/Columbus, Neb.) hit Mitch Marvin (JR/Crete, Neb.) for a 51-yard strike to cut the deficit to 9-7 following the successful extra point.
Tabor looked poised to respond as they drove into Tiger territory on their next possession but Doane came up with a block of a 30-yard field goal attempt. Doane ran out the clock to end the 2nd quarter as they trailed by two points at the break.
Midway through the 3rd quarter, Doane was looking to take the lead as they took over possession of the ball in Bluejay territory following a punt. However, it was Tabor who picked up a block as they denied the Tigers on a 42-yard field goal attempt.
Early in the 4th quarter, Doane was again poised to take the lead but a turnover 27 yards away from the end zone gave Tabor the ball back. The Bluejays countered with a 70-yard drive for a touchdown. The score came off a pass play on 3rd and 20.
Trailing 16-7, the Tiger offense struggled to find some momentum as their next two possessions ended with interceptions followed by two possessions that ended on fourth down. The defense continued to keep Tabor off the board, setting up a final charge by Doane.
The Tigers took over with 3:14 to play and marched 74 yards in 91 seconds. Brandon Stuart (SR/Bayard, Neb.) opened the drive with a pair of completions covering 43 yards. Klein added a 22-yard run on the drive. Stuart took the ball into the end zone on a one-yard keeper. Jordan Pedersen (SR/Crete, Neb.) made a historic extra point kick to pull Doane within two points, 16-14. His PAT gave him 73 points on the season, setting a new school record for a kicker in a single season.
The on-side kick did not bounce the Tigers way and Tabor was able to kneel the ball and run out the final 1:42 of play.
Doane was able to out-gain Tabor on the day, 296 yards to 249 yards. Penalties were costly for the Tigers, committing 11 for 76 yards. Doane also lost the turnover battle, committing six while taking away two.
Klein, playing at running back for the first time this season, ran for 84 yards on 15 carries. Shadley completed 10 passes for 157 yards and Stuart completed four passes for 56 yards. Marvin had a big receiving day, pulling in three catches for 103 yards. Jacob Cornelius (JR/Grand Island, Neb.) finished with three catches for 45 yards.
Colten Mach (JR/Crete, Neb.) led the defense with 14 total tackles, including seven solo. Andrew Vinton (SR/North Platte, Neb.) added 11 tackles and Alex Thatch (SR/Aurora, Colo.) was in on eight. Thatch and Tyler Chapa (SR/San Antonio, Texas) each had an interception. The defense had six tackles for loss in the game.