Even Quarters Cost Cobbers At #7 St. John's

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (10/07/23)---Concordia gave up 14 points in the second and fourth quarters and lost 42-23 at No.7-ranked St. John's.

The Cobbers traded scores with the Johnnies until midway through the third quarter, when SJU was able to turn a 21-17 scoreline into a 35-17 lead. The 14-point outburst would prove to be the difference in the conference game.

The loss drops Concordia's record to 2-3 in all games and 1-2 in conference play. St. John's is now 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the MIAC.

One of the key moments in the game came at the end of the first half after the Cobbers tied the game at 14-14 on a blocked punt, scoop and score. Junior Surpris broke free and blocked the punt, and then Owen Miller scooped up the ball and ran five yards for the score. The blocked punt and score was the second time in the last three games that Concordia has scored on a blocked punt.

St. John's received the ensuing kickoff and went 70 yards in 1:29 to take the 21-14 lead at the halftime break.

The Cobbers got a 42-yard field goal at 8:52 of the third quarter to bring the score to 21-17, and then the Johnnies scored 21 of the final 27 points.

Dawson Schaffer scored Concordia's first touchdown on a 2-yard pass at the start of the second quarter. Miller recorded the other TD for CC when he hauled in his first receiving TD of the season. The score came with 2:02 left in the fourth quarter and was a 13-yard strike.

Miller had the best game of his college career as he finished with a team-high eight catches for 100 yards. Both numbers are career highs for Miller. Schaffer and Eric Cockhill both had six receptions for CC.

Junior quarterback Cooper Mattern was 23-for-45 for 254 passing yards and two TDs. He has thrown for at least two TDs in four of the five games this year and has 12 passing TDs in 2023.

The Cobbers finished with 256 total offensive yards, compared to 606 for the Johnnies. CC had 2 rushing yards and 254 passing yards, while SJU had 108 rushing yards and 498 passing yards on 60 attempts and 44 completions.

Senior defensive back Mitchell Sullivan led Concordia in tackles. He had a career-high 16 tackles. Ty Moser added 13 tackles and 1.0 tackles for a loss. McHale Korf gave the Cobbers three players with a double-digit tackle total. He had 11 tackles and forced a fumble. Collin Thompson had 1.5 tackles for a loss and leads the conference with 13.0 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

UP NEXT: Concordia will host Hamline in the annual Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 1 p.m.