By james art Drew Selon entered the Morningside football record books last month. As a receiver, that’s not easy to do.
Morningside, winner of three NAIA national titles in the last six years, had recent All-America receivers like Connor Niles, who caught 153 passes in 2018, and Reed Juergensmeier, who had 5,463 career receiving yards.
Sellon set a single-game program history with 18 catches in a 51-21 win over Concordia.
“I know I can play at this level and do well at this level. This game solidified me knowing that,” said Selon, a 2022 Fremont graduate.
That game was the start of a breakout season for Sellon, who is second in the NAIA in receptions (61) and receiving yards (1,019). In addition to the 18-catch, 201-yard game against Concordia, Sellon also had 12 catches for 226 yards earlier this month against Hastings.
A year ago, Sellon had 56 catches for 571 yards for the Mustangs. This year, he had more than 100 yards receiving in six of seven games for Morningside, 6-1 and ranked eighth in the NAIA.
“He’s a significantly better route runner (this year). He just has a better concept of how to win and how to use angles and leverage to get open,” Morningside coach Steve Ryan said. “He catches the ball a lot better and just in terms of his leadership, he’s better on and off the field.”
The 6-foot, 185-pound Sellon, who said he never had more than 11 or 12 catches in a game in high school, became a favorite target of freshman quarterback Zach Chevalier. Chevalier leads the NAIA in passing game (393.7) and TD passes (27).
Sellon said he and Chevalier built their relationship over the summer as they prepared for this season.
“We both think the same way,” Selon said. “We just have a lot of trust in each other and we have a great relationship.”
Morningside’s offense is second in the NAIA in total offense, averaging 551.9 yards per game, and sixth in scoring (50.6) heading into two crucial games that will likely decide the GPAC race.
Morningside travels to 6-0 and fourth-ranked Dordt for a 1 p.m. game Saturday and then hosts No. 9 Northwestern on Nov. 2.
Morningside’s offense will be tested as Dordt is seventh in the NAIA in points allowed (11.5 per game) and Northwestern is rated fifth (10.0).
“With our quarterback, we throw the ball a lot more, so I’m just trying to make plays and help the team win,” Selon said. “Everything on offense starts up front with our O-line. They played great this year.”
Dordt won all of its games by double figures as its offense was led by Kolson Kruse, who threw for 1,135 yards and rushed for 347.
Other games
Iowa Western (6-1) at Garden City (6-1), 11 a.m.: Another matchup of highly ranked teams for the Reivers. No. 2 in the IWCC has won five straight as Hunter Deckers has thrown for 2,166 yards. Garden City is No. 5 in the juco poll with six straight wins. The Broncbusters have allowed a total of 52 points during the streak.
Sioux Falls (6-2) at Wayne State (6-1), noon: A meeting of teams in search of the NCAA Division II postseason. Sioux Falls has a win over Minnesota State that handed Wayne its only loss. Both have dual-threat QBs as Sioux Falls has Camden Dean and Wayne has Bennington graduate Nick Bohn. Sioux Falls leads the series 9-2.
Mount Marty (4-3) at Concordia (5-2), 1 p.m.: Concordia is off to a 5-2 start for the first time since 2015 and had 670 yards last week at Doane, while Austin Jablonski set a program single-game record for receiving yards with 213. The four wins are a program high for Mount Marty.
Doane (1-7) at Hastings (2-8), 1: Both teams are looking to snap losing streaks. Doane, which has dropped five in a row, is led by Sam Hartman, who has thrown for 1,298 yards. Hastings is scoring 8.0 points per game in his three shutouts. Bellevue West graduate Jayden Roberts is averaging 9.5 tackles for Hastings on the season.
Dakota Wesleyan (2-5) at Northwestern (5-1), 1: No. 9 Northwestern is allowing 10 points per game and hasn’t allowed more than seven points in any of its wins. Dakota Wesleyan lost 42-7 to Dordt last week.
Nebraska Wesleyan (2-4) at Luther (1-5), 1: Wesleyan is looking to snap a two-game losing streak against a team that is allowing 48.3 points per game. Wesleyan’s Connor White has thrown for 1,323 yards.
Peru State (4-2) vs. William Woods (1-6), 1: Down 21-14, Peru scored TDs on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter — the last a 15-yard pick-six — to beat William Penn last week. The Bobcats now face William Woods, who has allowed more than 65 points in each of his last three games.
Emporia State (6-1) vs. UNK (4-3), 2: UNK surpassed last year’s victory total as Kyle Failing kicked a 33-yard field goal on the final play of a 24-23 win at Missouri Western last week. No. 14 Emporia, whose only loss came to Northwest Missouri, had 599 yards in last week’s 49-30 win over Missouri Southern, while Chase Riecke threw for 485 yards in his first career start.
Chadron State (3-4) at Black Hills State (3-4), 5: Chadron is coming off a 55-13 win over Fort Lewis when its stingy defense had two pick sixes. Black Hills won everywhere but the scoreboard last week as they held the ball for nearly 47 minutes and ran 97 plays for 500 yards, but No. 13 CSU-Pueblo kicked the game-winning field goal with seven seconds left. Black Hills won the last two games of this series.