LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska Wesleyan shut down the potent Dakota Wesleyan rushing attack and scored a defensive touchdown of their own as the Prairie Wolves upset the 19th-ranked Tigers, 24-7, on Senior Day at Abel Stadium.

Nebraska Wesleyan held the Tigers scoreless in the first half and maintained that momentum in the second half as the Prairie Wolves improved to 3-5 overall and 3-4 in GPAC play. The Prairie Wolves also remain unbeaten against Dakota Wesleyan in games played in Lincoln.

NWU jumped ahead early as the Prairie Wolves took the opening kickoff and marched 76 yards for an opening drive TD.  Tyler Francis hit Connor Zumpfe on a crossing pattern and Zumpfe bounced off a defender and changed direction to find the end zone for a 47-yard reception.

The two teams traded punts for the majority of the first half as neither team could mount a drive.  The Prairie Wolves finally got something started in the final minutes of the half.  Two big pass plays put the Prairie Wolves down to the 1-yard line. Francis scrambled out of pressure and hit Ryan Larsen for a 27-yard gain, then a screen pass to Shaka Taylor put the ball down to the 1-yard line.  Francis once again hit Zumpfe in the end zone on a 1-yard TD pass to give Zumpfe his 10th TD of the season and put NWU ahead 14-0 at halftime.

In the second half, NWU fumbled on their opening possession as Francis was sacked. DWU used the short field and scored to cut the lead in half.  Dillon Turner found Alex Robertson for a TD pass from 6 yards.

NWU also fumbled on their next possession to give the Tigers the ball at the 48-yard line.  Two plays later, DWU All-American RB Fran Barnoud cut outside where Brandon McGill knocked the ball loose and Wes Boettcher scooped up the loose pigskin and rumbled 54 yards to paydirt.  That defensive TD put the Prairie Wolves up 21-7 and took away all the Tigers momentum.

The NWU defense forced two more turnovers in the second half as Garrett Farr and Riley Shoemaker each recorded interceptions to end any last minute threats by the Tigers.  NWU also put a final stake in the Tigers with a 31-yard field goal by Kramer Rath late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

NWU held DWU to just 46 rush yards on 36 attempts as Barnaud ran 17 times for 40 yards.  The Tigers finished with 285 yards of offense as Dillon Turner was 23-47 through the air for 235 yards.

Tyler Francis finished 22-38 for 258 yards with two touchdowns and most importantly no interceptions.  He moved up to second on the season passing charts with two games.  Once again his favorite garge was Connor Zumpfe who had six catches for 96 yards with two touchdowns.  Ryan Larsen caught four passes for 72 yards.  Shaka Taylor ran for 39 yards and had 41 yards receiving.

The Prairie Wolves defense was led by Kalen Vandenberg who had 11 tackles with 1.5 TFLs.  Hunter Hand had 10 tackles with three pass breakups and a QB sack.