Baune Batters Buena Vista

MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/08/12)--- Powerful, bruising, smashing and punishing. All those words can be used to describe the running style of senior fullback Brett Baune. After Saturday's performance against Buena Vista, fans can add "dominating" to that list. Baune rushed for a single game school record 258 yards and steamrolled Concordia to a 38-14 win over the Beavers in Moorhead.

The Cobbers are 2-0 on the year while the Beavers drop to 0-2.  

Baune's dominating performance helped Concordia amass 634 total offensive yards – the second most in program history and only the second time that the Cobbers have ever gone over the 600-yard mark.  On top of the total offensive output, the Cobbers also rushed for 547 yards which is also a "second best".

Baune finished the day by averaging 10.3 yards per carry on 25 carries. Baune's biggest run of the day came on his only TD. He took a handoff on 4^th-and-1 and turned it into a game-ending 50-yard run to the end zone. Baune's score turned a 24-14 game into a 17-point advantage that broke the back of Buena Vista's comeback attempt.

Concordia took a 14-0 lead into halftime and then widened the gap to 24-6 at the end of the third quarter. Buena Vista scored 8-seconds into the fourth period to cut the lead to 24-14. The Beavers renewed life was then put to rest when Baune ripped through the line on the crucial 4^th-down situation and went untouched for 50 yards.

In addition to Baune's 250-plus yards on the ground, sophomore quarterback Griffin Neal rushed for 93 yards and one TD and back-up QB Mitch Tauer ran for 79 yards, including a 46-yard scoring scamper. Luke Gotta recorded the other rushing TD for CC. He had 49 total rushing yards on 10 carries.

The two other Cobber scores came courtesy of a 23-yard passing play from Neal to Mark Whiting and a 41-yard field goal from kicker Ben Wagner. The 42-yard field goal is the longest by any Cobber kicker since the 2005 season. Wagner was also 5-for-5 in extra points and is now 11-for-11 on the season in PAT's.

Buena Vista's two score on the day came from long distance. Dylan Barrett rattled off a 71-yard run at the start of the third quarter and Logan Lehrkamp caught a 46-yard passing strike at the start of the fourth.

The biggest statistical advantages beside the total offensive yards (634-240) came in time of possession and number of plays run. The Cobbers held the ball for 40:29 of the 60 minutes of play. CC also ran 33 more plays than the Beavers in the game.

The Concordia defense held BVU to 93 rushing yards and 147 passing yards. The Cobbers were led by Bryce Hentges, Matt Moenkedick and Paul Streich. Hentges and Moenkedick both had a team-high five tackles and and Streich came away with 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss.

Concordia will now turn its attention to the MIAC. The Cobbers will face St. Olaf on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. in Northfield as the team's renew the rivalry for the ugliest trophy in all of college football.