LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska Wesleyan scored 17 fourth quarter points to overtake the lead and three costly Dordt turnovers allowed the Prairie Wolves to hang on for a 27-14 over the Defenders in GPAC football action.

NWU improves to 3-4 overall and 2-4 in GPAC play, while Dordt falls to 1-6, 0-5 in GPAC.

Dordt scored on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 4th & 1 to take a 14-10 lead.  The Defenders used a 22-play drive that covered 11:52 of the clock, all 22 plays were running plays to gain the 78 yards.

NWU needed to respond and they did on their next possession.  The Prairie Wolves marched down to the 32-yard line in only four plays that set up a big play.  Quarterback Ben Green threw a backwards pass to Ryan Larsen who then looked downfield and found a wide open Bryce Darner in the end zone to give NWU the 17-14 lead.

Dordt tried to respond and got up to midfield on their next offensive possession. With the Defenders at the Prairie Wolves 41-yard line, Dordt attempted an option play but the pitch was mishandled and NWU linebacker Hunter Hand recovered at the Dordt 48.

NWU added to their lead as Shaka Taylor broke several tackles on a 17-yard touchdown run to make it a two score advantage.  The Prairie Wolves then held the Defenders on four downs and Kramer Rath connected on a 23-yard field goal for the 27-14 lead.

In a game that had very few possessions with both teams using the ground game neither team scored in the first quarter.  NWU finally got on the scoreboard as Kramer Rath made a 29-yard field goal at the 11:10 mark of the second quarter.

Dordt had a 54-yard run on the first play when they got the ball back then capped the drive with a 11-yard run by quarterback Taylor Seamam to lead 7-3.

Each team had the ball only once in the 3rd quarter.  NWU scored to open the half as Coach Keller broke into his bag of tricks several times on the day.  Shaka Taylor took the ball in the backfield and approached the line when he jumped and passed to wide open tight end Caleb Conway.  Conway did the rest streaking 31 yards for the score.

Nebraska Wesleyan finished with 379 total yards, 231 through the air and 148 on the ground.  Dordt had 294 total yards, all but 10 came on the ground.  The Defenders did not complete a pass until the final drive of the game and finished 2-14 through the air with three interceptions.

Ben Green was 14-20 passing for 168 yards and had 34 rushing yards.  Shaka Taylor ran for a team-high 60 yards with a touchdown and also threw a TD pass.  Ryan Larsen caught a three passes for 35 yards and also threw a TD pass.

Dakota Buss had a huge day to lead the Prairie Wolves defense.  Buss recorded 15 total tackles with an interception and two pass breakups.  Brandon McGill had a team-high 16 tackles, including 10 solo stops.

NWU will now have a bye week before traveling to nationally-ranked Dakota Wesleyan on Halloween.