3-Phase Flourish In MIAC Opener

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (9/17/16)--- Head coach Terry Horan understood the task his Cobber defense was facing this week. 

Horan said, "Our offense might be our best defense this week." Turns out he was pretty prophetic.

The Cobbers stepped up to the conference-opening challenge and outlasted Bethel 21-13 in Arden Hills. It marked the first time that Concordia has beaten the Royals at Bethel since 2005.

Bethel came into Saturday's showdown averaging 43.5 points per game and 528.0 yards total offense but Concordia limited the Royals to just 293 yards of total offense and a season-low 13 points. Their previous season low was 34 points. 

One of the keys for the Concordia program has always been getting off to a successful start and that was the case on Saturday. CC never trailed in the game and was able to get on the board first.

Neither team scored on their opening drive. The Cobber defense came up with a 3rd-and-6 stop from their own 40-yard line which set the tone for the remainder of the game. 

Concordia scored on its very next possession to take a 7-0 lead. Dane Ringquist powered his way for the two-yard scoring plunge to cap a 14-play, 80-yard drive that spanned 6:53 in the first quarter. 

The Royals countered by scoring on their first drive of the second quarter. Bridgeport Tusler snuck across the goal line for the 1-yard score to cap Bethel's longest drive of the afternoon – a methodical 15-play, 71-yard venture that took over six minutes.

One of the biggest plays of the game came late in the second quarter when Concordia lined up to punt from the Bethel 42-yard line. The ensuing snap sailed over punter Eddie Clifton's head. Instead of just falling on the loose ball, Clifton scooped up the fumbled snap, rolled to his right and got off a rugby-style punt that almost made it back to the line of scrimmage.

Instead of having the ball deep in Concordia territory with 16-seconds to play in the half, Bethel had the ball at midfield and wasn't able to capitalize as a 48-yard field goal try missed wide left and the two teams entered the half tied. 

The Cobber Black Shirts made another statement at the start of the third quarter. Instead of resting on their opening-half performance, CC forced a three-and-out on the Royals' first possession of the second half and proceeded to take over from their own 28-yard line. 

Concordia then took the lead for good on their opening possession of the second half. Junior quarterback Michael Herzog guided the Cobbers down the field by throwing for 13 yards and rushing for 34 yards on eight carries and then Jason Montonye found the end zone from five yards out to cap a 13-play 73-yard drive and that pushed CC to a 14-7 lead. 

The Cobber defense continued their relentless pursuit of the ball on the next possession and it paid off with the only turnover of the game. Bethel put together a pair of first downs, the second of which came via a "targeting" penalty, and had the ball 1st-and-10 at the CC 35-yard line.

Bethel fumbled the ball on a 2nd-and-6 play and the Cobbers swarmed all over the loose ball before sophomore lineman Noah Welsh came out of the pile with the clutch turnover.

Concordia's offense took the present from the Black Shirts and made it pay off. Austin Maanum had a 17-yard scamper on the third-to-last play of the third quarter which brought the Cobbers inside the red zone and then Herzog put Concordia up 21-7 on the very first play of the fourth quarter with an 11-yard bowling-ball style keeper. 

Bethel tried to answer quickly. Quarterback Andrew Dzurik led the Royal offense down inside the Cobber 20-yard line on the ensuing drive but the defense once again showed its developing character on a 4th-and-6 play from the Concordia 16-yard line. Sophomore cornerback Aaron Ahrndt had the intended receiver blanketed and BU was unable to come up with the key completion and had to turn the ball over on downs.

Concordia was forced to punt deep in its own territory on the next possession and once again Clifton came to the rescue. For the second time in the game the snap was perfect for an 8-foot punter but not for the 6-0 Clifton. He raced backward after the fade-rout type snap, scooped up the ball and outran the rush to the right end. He was then able to punt the ball to the Bethel 43-yard line.

Bethel inserted sophomore Trey Anderson as quarterback on the next possession and he put the finishing touches on a nine-play, 45-yard drive by scrambling into the end zone from five yards out. The ensuing extra point was blocked and Concordia held an eight-point advantage at 21-13 with 4:06 to play. 

Concordia would sputter offensively and The Royals got the ball back with 3:33 to play at their own 46-yard line. Feeling a sense of urgency with only one timeout remaining, the BU offense tried to work fast. Anderson took a QB keeper on a fourth-and-one to move the chains but was quickly faced with another fourth down scenario. 

On 4th-and-8 from the CC 27-yard line the Black Shirts made their final stand of the game. 

Anderson dropped back to throw and escaped the pocket and attempted to run for the eight yards needed. He only made it five yards before he was met by senior captain Hank Van Liew for the game ending tackle. 

COBBERS AT BETHEL HIGHLIGHTS

STICKING TO SUCCESS  – Herzog threw for under 100 yards for the third straight game. The junior managed the offense and threw for 77 yards while running for 93 more with that 11-yard scoring scamper. Concordia racked up 232 yards on the ground.

RUNNING BY COMMITTEE - The 2016 Cobber running game is many-headed monster. Concordia rushed the ball 54 times on Saturday and gained 232 yards. CC had five different backs carry the ball at least four times and had seven players with at least one carry. Herzog was the workhorse with 23 carries for 93 yards. Montonye got eight touches and put up 39 yards. Last week's 100-yard rusher Dane Ringquist had 10 carries for 39 yards while Chad Johnson ran the ball six times and sophomore Ryan Cihak had his number called four times.   

HOW BOUT THEM BLACK SHIRTS! – Dzurik came into Saturday's game averaging 315.5 yards through the air but the Cobbers limited him to 181 yards on 18-of-34 passing. The stingy Black Shirts also only allowed the Royals just 69 rushing yards – the lowest since they allowed 75 yards against St. Olaf in late September of last season. 

SOPHOMORE SUPER STARS – Four of the six leading tacklers on Saturday were sophomores for the Cobbers. Aaron Ahrndt, Juwan Easley and Alex Berg led the way with seven tackles apiece while Treyton Austvold chipped in with six takedowns. Saturday's performance showed these young second-year players are ball-hawks in the making. 

NO FRY ZONE – Bethel entered Saturday with a dynamic offense that led the MIAC in yards per game (528.0) and a passing offense which was in the Top 26 of the nation. The "No Fly Zone" secondary stepped up and made big plays all day. Easley had four pass break-ups while senior Landon Moline broke up three to help slow down a fast-paced Royal aerial attack. 

WHAT'S NEXT? Concordia will remain on the road in conference play. The Cobbers will travel to St. Peter to take on Gustavus on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. The Gusties beat CC 41-34 in St. Peter last season in a game that featured a wild 14-point 29-second finish.  Gustavus improved to 3-0 in 2016 with a convincing 35-13 win over Augsburg in the conference opener.