LINCOLN, Neb. -- 10th-ranked Doane College rushed for 444 yards and four touchdowns as the Tigers ran past Nebraska Wesleyan 44-7 in the annual rivalry football game played on Saturday at Abel Stadium in Lincoln.

Doane remains undefeated on the season at 5-0 and now holds a three win advantage in the series against the Prairie Wolves.

NWU looked prime to pull the upset early as the took the opening drive and marched down the field.  Shaka Taylor had a 42-yard run down to the 8-yard line.  NWU had an apparent touchdown on a pass play, but a Doane defender knocked the ball away at the last minute on 2nd down.  The Tigers sacked NWU on 3rd down, then Kramer Rath had his first missed field goal of the season, and first in 11 straight tries as they came away with no points.

From there, Doane began to flex their muscle on offense as they scored on three of their next four possessions to go ahead 20-0.

The Prairie Wolves did get on the board right before halftime as Ben Green found Ryan Larsen for a 29-yard touchdown pass to get back into the game.

Any momentum that Nebraska Wesleyan had gained before the break was taken right away as Doane marched right down the field on the opening drive of the half to go back up by 20 points.

NWU did try to respond on their next offensive possession as a big pass play to Ryan Schneider put the Prairie Wolves into Doane territory.  They got inside the 30-yard line but failed to convert on a 4th down play and the threat ended.

The Tigers then put the game away with three more touchdowns in the final time the two old rivals meet as conference members.

Doane had a huge day on the ground with 444 rush yards, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.  The Tigers finished with 582 total yards.  Nate Meier was the main offensive weapon with 233 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.  He averaged 10.1 yards a carry on 23 rushes.  Two other backs averaged over 10 yards a carry on the ground.

Nebraska Wesleyan was limited to 307 yards of total offense.  They rushed for 108 and threw for 199.

Shaka Taylor carried the ball 13 times for 79 yards, including the 42-yard run.  Ryan Larsen and Ryan Schneider each caught four passes on the day.  Ben Green completed only 18-43 passing for 195 yards with one touchdown.

Brandon McGill led the team on defense with double digit tackles for the second straight week as he made 10 stops.  Wes Boettcher had nine tackles, with seven solo stops.