Balanced Efforts Lifts Football to First Win of Season

In the first meeting between two programs, the Tiger football team posted a 26-7 victory over Waldorf on Saturday evening in Crete. The win was the first of the season for Doane and the first under Coach Jonathan Johnson and his staff.

Waldorf received the opening kickoff and drove into Doane territory. The Warriors came up scoreless after a missed field goal. Doane took their first possession and marched 80 yards on 10 plays for the first score. James Miles III finished off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run.

Doane's second drive of the game started at their 1-yard line after a Waldorf punt. The Tigers took the ball into the second quarter and capped off another scoring drive with a 38-yard field goal from Kelen Meyer.

The Tiger defense held the Warriors to minus-one yard on the next possession and forced a punt. Taking over at their 32-yard line, Doane drove the field for another score. Meyer connected on a 23-yard field goal.

Waldorf punted on their next possession but then came up with the first takeaway of the game with an interception as Doane was held without a score for the first time in the game. The Warriors were in Tiger territory but the Doane defense stepped up and stopped Waldorf on four downs.

As the first half came to a close, Doane drove down to the Waldorf 1-yard line with 12 seconds left in the second quarter. Reece Zutavern went into the backfield and the Tiger linebacker got the call, scoring from 1-yard out. Doane led at the break, 19-0.

A penalty on the kickoff left Doane to start at their 12-yard line as the teams opened the third quarter. The Tigers' run game punished the Waldorf defensive front, running the ball 12 times during the 16-play drive. Doane converted on third down four times during the drive, including the final play of the drive which resulted in a Sam Hartman to Miles 11-yard touchdown pass.

The Warriors scored their lone touchdown of the game on their final possession in the fourth quarter. With 1:52 to play, Louis Williams hit Bryce Jones for a 32-yard touchdown.

For the game, Doane posted 547 yards of total offense while Waldorf was held to 231 yards. The Tigers posted 292 yards on the ground and 255 yards through the air.

Hartman connected on 77-percent of his pass attempts, going 17-of-22 for 255 yards and a touchdown. Darnell Riley led the team with six receptions for 64 yards and John DeRiso added four receptions for 85 yards. Eight different players had a reception in the game.

The rushing attack was paced by Rian Green with 131 yards on 24 carries. David Harris added 72 yards on 11 carries with Miles III adding 62 yards on 20 carries. Doane finished the game with 66 rushing attempts.

Meyer was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts and kicked the ball through the end zone on five of his six kickoffs.

Cooper Hancock led the defense with eight total tackles. Zutavern finished with six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and was in on a sack with Keegan Theobald. Aaron Reyes was also in on six tackles. Owen Kuntz and Keegan Shuler each added a sack in the game as the team had three.

For the game, Doane finished with six passing plays of 15 or more yards and nine rushing plays of 10 or more yards. Waldorf finished with four passing plays and one rushing play under the same standard.

Next up for the Tigers will be the first game away from home. Doane heads to Sioux City, Iowa, to take on Morningside at 1 PM on September 21.