Second Quarter, Second Gear in 44-21 Win

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/30/21)----Concordia trailed Augsburg 14-7 at the start of the second quarter and proceeded to rattle off 37 of the final 44 points in the game and rolled to a 44-21 Skyline Division win.

The Cobbers scored 20 points in the second quarter alone and then tacked on 10 more in the third to stop their 2-game losing streak.

Concordia (3-5, 2-4 MIAC, 2-1 division) opened the scoring on their very first drive on a 6-yard TD pass from Tanner Dubois to Peter Narum. The Auggies scored on their first two drives of the game to grab a 14-7 lead – and it looked like the game would be close for the entire 60 minutes.

That's when the Cobbers offense started to roll and the defense stepped up the stops.

Concordia's offense was stopped in the first possession of the second quarter, but then scored points on their next six possessions. The Black Shirt defense forced five straight Augsburg punts to finish the half and then opened the second 30 minutes with a pair of punts and a fumble recovery.

The fumble recovery at the start of the third quarter was one of three takeaways for the CC defense. Freshman defensive back Stuart DeMerit came up with a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter to seal the 23-point win.

The Cobbers got touchdowns from freshman wide receiver Joey Headrick and senior running back Ben Hoggarth in the second quarter. Headrick's 11-yard touchdown catch at 5:50 of the second quarter was his first collegiate TD, while Hoggarth powered his way to a 3-yard TD run which was his team-leading sixth of the season.

Freshman kicker Damien Silus hit a pair of field goals in the second quarter. He would finish with 14 points in the game and leads CC with 47 points for the year.

Peyton Mortenson wasn't about to let Hoggarth run away with the touchdown lead. The senior running back scored on runs of 10 yards and 26 yards in the third and fourth quarters. The two TD give Mortenson six on the season – tying Hoggarth for the team lead.

Concordia outgained Augsburg 389-292. CC also had a 20-17 edge in first downs and a 30:07-29:53 edge in time of possession.

The Cobber defense came away with a season-high 7 sacks on the afternoon. Senior linebacker Rob Lestrick had 3.0 sacks, while Ty Moser and Sam Hegg-Entzion both had 1.5 QB sacks.

Lestrick and Moser tied for the team lead in total tackles. Both players had 5 solo tackles and 8 total tackles.

Cobber quarterback Tanner Dubois finished the day by going 26-for-41 for 283 yards and two touchdowns.

Mortenson led the Cobber ground game with 17 rushes for 84 yards. Hoggarth carried the ball nine times and gained 31 yards.

Wyatt Curtis had a team-high five catches for 58 yards, while Narum had four catches for 52 yards and the one TD strike.  

UP NEXT: Concordia will stay inside the Skyline Division for their final game before crossover week. The Cobbers will play at Hamline on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. The Pipers are 3-5 overall and 1-5 in the MIAC, but 0-3 against divisional opponents.