Make It Four Straight Season-Opening Wins

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (9/06/14)—Concordia used a balanced offense and "new-look" defense to mow down the University of Jamestown 40-13 in the 2014 season opener. The Cobbers have now won four straight season openers and remain unbeaten against the Jimmies in the series between the two teams.

Concordia racked up 515 yards of total offense in the 27-point win at Jamestown. It marks the second straight season that the Cobbers have amassed over 500 yards of total offense against the Jimmies. The 515 yards of total offense is the most since the second game of the 2012 season when they posted 634 yards against Buena Vista.

Another positive in the opening-game win came on the ground where CC had five different players rush for at least 30 yards and came away with 291 total rushing yards. Concordia rushed for over 250 yards only once last year and broke a streak of four games where they accumulated more passing yards than rushing yards. The Cobbers have had a perennial strong tradition of running the ball and the return to more rushing yards will serve CC well as they go through the season.

The theme of a balanced offensive attack carried into the passing game as well as Concordia had seven players come away with at least one reception. The scoring sheet was also a testament to the depth of the Cobbers. CC had four different players score a touchdown.

While balance was at the forefront, there were several offensive spotlights shining down in Jamestown. Junior wide receiver Jon Baune had career-high totals in receptions and receiving yards. Baune had six catches for 125 receiving yards and was one of the four CC players to break into the end zone. Baune also excelled in racking up yards after the catch as he routinely broke free in the Jimmie secondary after grabbing the ball close to the line.

The rushing game belonged to fullback Alex McLean. McLean had a career-high 11 rushing attempts and powered his way to a game-high 79 yards. He also had the longest rush of the day when he broke free down the right sideline and chugged his way to a 29-yard TD in the second quarter.

The final offensive spotlight belonged to senior quarterback Griffin Neal who put forth quality and quantity. Neal was efficient through the air, completing 66.7% of his passes and throwing for over 200 yards for the fourth time in the last five games. He finished with 224 passing yards and now needs 1,015 passing yards to become the school's all-time passing leader. While his arm showed no signs of early-season rust, Neal's legs were in midseason form. He rushed the ball a game-high 14 times and had 54 rushing yards.

The one headache on offensive for 14-year head coach Terry Horan will come in the turnover department. Concordia fumbled the ball three times and lost all three miscues. CC had more than two fumbles only once in all of 2013.

The new-look defense gave up only four first downs in the first half of play and plugged the line of scrimmage to limit the Jimmie offense to less than 50 rushing yards. The Cobbers only came up with one game last year where they allowed less than 50 rushing yards.

Concordia "Black Shirts" had six new starters and three of the top four tacklers were all new comers to significant playing time from last season. Senior defensive back Dan Berdan had seven total tackles and was tied with sophomore linebacker Hank Van Liew. The pair combined for only 13 total tackles in all of 2013. Austyn Raftevold and Carl Nelson had five tackles each against the Jimmies.

The Cobber defense also showed great depth with 16 different players having at least two tackles on the day. Concordia forced two fumbles on the day. Berdan and Nelson were credited with causing the fumbles while Nate Adams and Levi Hintermeister were able to come up with the loose balls.

Concordia senior kicker Ben Wagner picked up right where he left off last season. Wagner didn't miss on an extra point and tied his career high for longest field goal. He connected on a 42-yard 3-pointer at the end of the first half to give CC a 26-7 lead at the break.

The Cobbers will host their home opener next weekend when they square off against Buena Vista. Concordia beat the Beavers 38-14 in Iowa last season.