DeMerit Seals DeWIN

MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/09/23)---Stuart Demerit's 93-yard "scoop and score" off of a blocked field goal proved to be the difference in Concordia's 26-21 win over Pacific Lutheran in the home opener.

The Cobbers scored in all four quarters to pick up their first win of the season. Concordia's defense held off a late-game rally by the Lutes. The Black Shirts came away with a huge stop on 2nd-and-10 on their own 34-yard line as time expired and PLU driving for a game-winning score.

THE 411: The game hinged around a couple of plays in the third quarter. The first came at the end of the first drive of the third quarter, and Concordia holding a 13-7 lead. After the Cobbers fumbled a punt return and gave Pacific Lutheran the ball back, the CC defense stopped the Lutes on three plays after they had a 1st-and-goal situation. PLU elected to go for a field goal, which turned into a touchdown for the Cobbers. Senior captain Ty Moser blocked the FG attempt of the year, and the ball rolled to the 7-yard line. DeMerit was the "Stuart on the spot" and picked up the ball on the right edge of the line, sprinted toward the Cobber sideline and turned it up the field for a 93-yard return.

The second big moment in the second half came on the Cobbers' next possession. PLU picked off a pass at the 20-yard line and returned it for a TD. However, an illegal block penalty on the return brought the ball all the way back to the 32-yard line of the Lutes, and CC was able to force a 3-and-out. The negated touchdown could have given Pacific Lutheran the lead. Instead, the Cobbers would get a field goal on their first possession of the fourth quarter, which sealed the win.        

THE NEXT LEVEL: The blocked field goal attempt was the Cobbers' second of the season. And who had the first? That would be the same player who had the second – Moser. Needless to say, Moser leads the MIAC in blocked field goal attempts.

THE NEXT LEVEL 2: One of the key stats in the game came from third-down conversion rate. PLU went 9-for-18 on their third down attempts, which kept the CC defense on the field and led to a 33:43-26:17 advantage in possession time for the Lutes. The nine 3rd-down conversions are the most by the CC defense since last year's loss to Bethel when the Royals had 10.

THE NUMBERS GAME: Pacific Lutheran outgained the Cobbers 423-317 in total yards. The Lutes also ran 22 more plays than Concordia. The Black Shirts came up big in two areas on the stat sheet. Putting pressure on the quarterback and tightening up inside the Red Zone. The Cobbers had seven sacks on the day and limited PLU to only 2-for-5 in scoring from inside the 20. The seven sacks are the most by a CC team since they also had seven against Augsburg in 2021.

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING: PJ Parmelee led the Cobber defense for the second straight game. He came away with nine total tackles, forced a fumble and picked off a pass. DeMerit finished his career game with seven total tackles, a tackle for a loss and two pass breakups.   

Cobber quarterback Cooper Mattern went 25-for-32 for 250 yards and two TD tosses. His favorite target on Saturday was senior Joey Headrick, who caught a career-high seven passes for 71 yards. Owen Miller and Ben Blancas both had five catches. Colin Conteh led CC in rushing. He ran the ball eight times and gained 34 yards.

CRIS CARTER SCHAFFER: The knock on Vikings' Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter was that he only catches touchdowns. Meet the 2023 version of Carter – Dawson Schaffer. Schaffer caught three passes on Saturday – and two went to the house. He had a 30-yard jump-ball special in the first quarter and then hauled in a 9-yard corner route in the second quarter. Schaffer now has nine receptions in 2023 and leads the team with four TDs.

SILUS SUCCESS: Junior kicker/punter Damien Silus had a day against the Utes. He went 2-for-2 in field goals, scoring the final six points of the game for CC. Silus also punted twice and averaged 46.5 yards on the two boots.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have its annual "bye week" next weekend. CC will open conference play when they head to Duluth to take on St. Scholastica on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m.