Final Play of Season Lifts Football to Road Win

Football closed out their season on Saturday with a road trip to Yankton, S.D. The Tigers scored on the final play of the game and converted a two-point conversion to post a 22-21 victory over Mount Marty. Doane finishes the season with a 3-8 overall record and 3-7 GPAC mark to place eighth. The win was the first in Yankton since 1979 when the Tigers defeated Yankton College (now defunct).

Doane started the game with the ball and drove into Lancer territory before a pass bounced off a Tiger and into the hands of a Mount Marty safety resulting in an interception and turnover. The Lancers took the ball into Doane territory but were stopped on fourth-and-one. Jarett Boggs was able to get past the Mount Marty offensive line and make a tackle in the backfield for a turnover on downs. The Tigers followed with the first score of the game, going 54 yards on three plays. Sam Hartman connected with Andrew Waido for a 49-yard completion over the middle for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead after the extra point conversion.

Mount Marty answered the Tiger touchdown with a 13-play, 81-yard drive to score with 3:14 to play in the opening quarter. For the Lancers, 78 of the 81 yards came on the ground as the drive was capped with a nine-yard run by Kyle Hirsch.

Doane took the next possession into the second quarter as they used nine plays to cover 75 yards for a touchdown drive. Hartman connected with Zack Perez on a slant route over the middle for a 12-yard touchdown and 14-7 lead. 

The Lancers drove the field at the end of the second quarter, having first and goal from the Doane 8-yard line. After an incompletion that was broken up by Zach Fox, the defense picked up a 12-yard sack as Tanner Simdorn came through untouched to tackle the quarterback. Without a timeout, Mount Marty had to race to the line and on third down the Tigers forced the quarterback to scramble and tackled him inbounds. The Lancers raced their kicking unit onto the field but missed a 31-yard field goal attempt as time expired and Doane led 14-7 at the break.

Mount Marty controlled the clock in the third quarter, limiting Doane to one possession. The Lancers started the quarter with the ball and took the ball to midfield before punting. The Tigers took the ball close to midfield before they had to punt. The next MMU drive covered 7:47 of clock time. The Lancers drove 87 yards on 17 plays to tie the game, 14-14, with 30 seconds to go in the quarter. They scored on an eight-yard run by Malachy Harts.

Following a Doane punt, the Lancers took their first lead of the game with a 13-play, 78-yard drive. Hirsch scored on a nine-yard rush with 6:23 to play in the game. Doane's next possession ended with an interception with 5:17 to play. 

The Lancers would take 2:49 off the clock before the Tigers forced a punt. The 38-yard punt by Jack Finder rolled out-of-bounds at the Doane 4-yard line, leaving the Tigers 96 yards from the end zone with 2:28 to play in the game.

The drive started with a pair of incomplete passes before Hartman connected with Darnell Riley for a 56-yard completion, with 30 of the yards coming after the catch. Following the two-minute timeout, Hartman was forced to scramble on three straight plays as he would pick up one yard, two yards, and 12 yards to get a first down.

Sitting at the Lancer 25-yard line, Doane had an incompletion and a 5-yard completion to James Miles III to set up third down from the 20. Hartman connected with Waido for an eight-yard completion to collect another first down at the 12-yard line. Following a pair of incompletions, the Tigers faced another third down with 10 seconds to play. Hartman took the snap and was forced out of the pocket as time expired on the game. He was able to find Waido wide open in the middle of the end zone for a 12-yard completion to set up the two-point conversion. The Tigers were 4-for-4 on third down conversions for the drive.

Each team took a timeout before the final snap of the game. Hartman faced pressure up the middle and was forced out of the pocket. As he was being tackled, he flipped a pass forward to Miles for the winning points.

Hartman finished the game with 14 completions for 257 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with Waido on five completions for 98 yards and two scores. Riley had four receptions for 113 yards.

On the ground, Hartman led the team with 57 yards on eight carries. Kannen Willis added 33 yards as the Tigers posted 123 yards rushing for the game.

Defensively, Boggs led the team with 14 tackles, seven solo. Andrew Brown posted 13 tackles, nine solo, and Reece Zutavern ended the game with 10 tackles. The Tigers recorded three sacks in the game as Simdorn, Lucas Christensen, and Owen Kuntz each had one. Fox was credited with three pass breakups.