All The Right Answers

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/17/2015) --- No.21/19-ranked Concordia answered all the question as they scored on each possession of the second half and rolled to a 56-24 win over Augsburg.

The Cobbers had plenty of question marks entering their game against the Auggies after narrowly escaping Carleton with a three-point win last Saturday. The team was starting the stretch run of the season and needed an inspired defensive performance against the high-octane Augsburg offense in order to keep their conference title hopes alive.

Concordia has now won four straight games and ups their overall mark to 6-1 on the year. CC is now 4-1 in league play and tied for second place in the conference standings – one game behind MIAC-leading St. Thomas. Augsburg falls for the third straight game and is now 2-4 in all games and 1-3 in the MIAC.  

Both teams came up empty on their opening two possessions. Augsburg's Tyler Hanson attempted a 43-yard field goal from the left hash but came up short on the second possession. Concordia took over possession quickly and wasted little time scoring.

Facing a third and seven, quarterback Michael Herzog found Adam Essler on an "out route" near the visiting sideline. Essler slipped a tackle and was off to the races for the 71-yard touchdown. Dominic Neameyer's point after was good and the Cobbers took the 7-0 lead.

Augsburg went three-and-out on their next possession and the Cobbers would capitalize again. Starting from the Auggie 34-yard line, Herzog converted a third and four to take the ball inside the red zone. On the next play Chad Johnson broke free and wheeled around the right side for the 18-yard score to make it 14-0 with 1:52 to play in the opening quarter.

The Auggies would respond early in the second quarter. Dual-threat quarterback Ayrton Scott guided Augsburg down the field and capped a ten play, 60 yard drive with a 16-yard strike to former NDSU Bison Joey Sonnenfeld for six. The point after from Hanson cut the deficit to 14-7.

Concordia went three and out on the ensuing possession and Scott led Augsburg down the field inside the Cobber red zone again. Facing a third and 16, Scott had his tight end, Scott Bossard, open in the corner but defensive back Tyler Hansen dove in and batted the ball away forcing the field goal try. Hanson would split the uprights from 34 yards out making it 14-10 Concordia with 2:34 to play in the opening half.

The Cobbers got the ball back with 2:27 to play in the half. Starting from their own 38-yard line, Johnson had three rushes for 35 yards, including a 25 yarder down into the Augsbug red zone. On the next play Herzog lofted a pass to the 5-11 Essler who elevated and made a tremendous snag for the 16-yard score. Concordia would then take a 21-10 lead into the half.

Neameyer kicked off to start the second half and Augsburg moved quickly down the field. Scott completed back-to-back passes to Sonnenfeld and then rushed for 15 yards to move into Cobber territory. Two plays later Scott rolled right and threw across his body to a wide open Bossard for the 30-yard touchdown strike bringing Augsburg to within four, 21-17.

The Cobbers made had the biggest answer of the day on the very next possession. Jason Montonye took an inside counter play 56 yards down the near sideline for the Cobber answer. Concordia extended their lead to 28-17.

Augsburg began to drive following the Montonye score. Scott had the Auggies near midfield and driving before Hank Van Liew stepped in front of Scott's pass and picked it off, returning the ball to the Cobber 48-yard line.

Cooper Gauldin rushed for 13 yards on an inside handoff followed by a 19-yard run from Johnson down to the Augsburg five-yard line. Two plays later it would be Johnson who pushed his way in from two yards out making the score 35-17 in favor of Concordia.

Coming into the game, Scott had thrown for over 1,000 yards in three games versus Concordia with the help of big play threat Joey Sonnenfeld. Sonnenfeld also had a history of hurting the Cobbers as he came into the game averaging 160 yards on nine catches in against Concordia.

The quarterback/receiver combination would once again roar up to hurt the Cobbers. After they got the ball back back, Scott faked the handoff to dangerous halfback Tyrell Martin which sucked the defense and left Sonnenfeld wide open. Scott delivered a perfect ball and it was an 84-yard dash to the end zone. Just 14 seconds after Concordia had scored to take an 18-point lead, Augsburg struck back making it 35-24 with 3:57 to play in the third quarter.

The offensive showcase continued for the Cobbers on their following possession. After Brandon Zylstra weaved his way through the Auggie kick return team for a 48-yard return, Herzog found Jon Baune on a rub play that allowed Baune to walk in to the end zone from 21 yards out, pushing the lead to 42-24.

Concordia would score on the following two possessions in the fourth quarter. Early in the fourth, Herzog capped an eight play, 49 yard drive with a one yard push. Following another Augsburg three and out, Johnson found the end zone one more time, this scamper from 18 yards out. Concordia would win by a 56-24 final.

OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT – The Cobbers scored touchdowns on each possession in the second half, excluding the final possession as they lined up in victory formation as time expired.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS – The 56 points posted by the Cobber football team is the most since Oct.  19, 2013 when the team defeated Hamline 63-7.

BIG D -  Senior Derek Rachel had a big game at linebacker. He recorded a career high 10 tackles, three of them being solo. Rachel's previous career high was seven tackles this season against Jamestown.

YES ESS! Adam Essler only touched the ball twice, but he made it count when he did. He had receiving touchdowns of 71 yards and 16 yards. The 71-yard score was the sophomore's first career touchdown.

THE BUS – Chad Johnson rushed for a career-high 133 yards and added three touchdowns. It is the first time the sophomore has gone over the century mark. He has nine touchdowns on the season, tying him for third in the MIAC.

STAT STUFF – Concordia was slightly outgained by Augsburg as the Auggies racked up 484 yards compared to the Cobber's' 481. However, Augsburg ran 74 offensive plays while CC ran just 59. The Cobbs averaged 8.2 yards per play compared to Auggie's 6.5. CC also picked up 26 first downs, two more than Augsburg.

TIME OF POSSESSION, LOST? One of head coach Terry Horan's favorite stats: time of possession.  Augsburg held the ball for 32:56 of the game compared to Concordia's 27:04 marking the second straight game that Concordia's opponent had an advantage in that stat category.

GET OUT YOUR POPCORN – The high-scoring affair featured several big plays that created short drives. There were 12 scoring drives between the two teams throughout the contest and seven of the drives lasted 2:16 or less.

GETTING COMFORTABLE/QUOTABLE – Starting quarterback Michael Herzog threw for a career high three touchdown passes. Jon Baune commented on Herzog's progression, saying, "Herzog keeps getting better every day. We are more comfortable with him and vice versa. It's a good time for him to be playing well."

WHAT'S NEXT? Concordia will travel to Hamline next week to take on the Pipers. Hamline is coming off a 78-7 defeat at the hands of St. Thomas. The Pipers are 0-4 in MIAC play and 2-4 overall. Concordia has not lost to Hamline in 23 years. The last time the Pipers beat the Cobbers was on September 21^st in 1991, a game Concordia lost 30-20 in St. Paul.