September 30, 2006

Seward, NE—The Dana Vikings built a third quarter lead and relied on fourth quarter defense to win 28-26 on Saturday at Concordia.  The win raised the Vikings record to 2-3 overall and 2-3 in the GPAC.  The Bulldogs dropped to 1-3.

Only 2:24 into the game the Vikings Brandon Terry (Omaha, NE) blocked a Bulldog punt setting up the Dana offense at the Concordia 15 yard line.  Three plays later running back Matt Neesen (Omaha, NE) scored on a four yard run.  The extra point by Rick Lebeda gave the Vikings a 7-0 lead.  The only other first quarter score came on a bad snap by Concordia’s punt unit that led to a safety for the Vikings.

In the second quarter, the Vikings started the scoring with a 41 yard Lededa field goal.  Following a 67 yard touchdown run by Bulldog Jamaine Lewis, Viking quarterback Marcus Sladek (Omaha, NE) hit Javon Bell (Miami, FL) with a 22 yard touchdown pass.  But, with only 0:29 remaining in the first half, the Bulldogs struck again on a 15 yard Will Pendarvis run.  The two point conversion failed leaving the Vikings with an 18-13 halftime lead.

Dana came out strong in the third quarter scoring on their first two possessions.  With 11:07 remaining in the third, Lededa made a 35 yard field goal, and with 8:27 left in the quarter Neesen ran in his second touchdown of the day on a one yard run.  A 29 yard run by Concordia’s quarterback Brett Mertens left the score 28-20 at the end of the third.

The only score in the fourth quarter came with 10:17 remaining on a 26 yard run by Bulldog Jeff Neujahr.  The Bulldogs went for two to tie the game, but quarterback Mertens run was stopped leaving the Vikings with a two point lead.

Concordia had the ball three more times in the quarter and all three times were stopped by the Viking defense.

Offensively, the Vikings were led by quarterback Sladek who finished 14 of 25 passing for 223 yards and the touchdown to Bell.  Sladek also rushed for 40 yards on 10 carries.  Bell caught four passes for 104 yards including a 50 yard catch and run that set up Dana’s third quarter TD.  Wide Receiver Greg Hill (Omaha, NE) caught seven passes for 67 yards and running back Neesen had 24 yards on 16 carries and two scores.

Defensively, the Vikings were once again led by senior captain Mike Buchanan (Omaha, NE) who had seven total tackles and recovered a Bulldog fumble.  Senior defensive lineman Ryan Hoden (Council Bluffs, IA) had six tackles including three sacks of Bulldog quarterback Mertens.  Defensive back Trevor Ketelsen (Bloomfield, NE) had two very timely interceptions in the last four minutes of the game to halt potential go ahead drives by the Bulldogs.

Vikings coach Bill Danenhauer was pleased with his team’s effort.  “It was a total team win.  All three phases of the game played well and contributed to the victory,” said Coach Danenhauer after the game.

The Vikings next game is Homecoming next Saturday, October 7, at 2:00 PM against Hastings.  Hastings comes to Blair with a 2-2 record most recently defeating Briar Cliff 28-3.

For more information, contact:


Shad Beam, sports information director, (402) 426-7389, sbeam@dana.edu

— or —

Scott Guzinski, assistant Sports Information Director, (402) 426-7949, sguzinsk@dana.edu