Balanced Cobbers Overwhelm Scots

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/21/23)---If it were a foot race, the Cobber defense and offense would have finished in a dead heat for the winner of the star of the game against Macalester.

Concordia used its balanced attack to overwhelm the Scots and come away with a 49-8 victory.

The defense  recorded four interceptions and didn't let Macalester score in the final three quarters. The offense put up 548 total yards, which included 233 rushing yards and scored on four of their first five possessions in the first quarter to bolt to a 28-8 lead after the first 15 minutes of play.

The win was the second straight for the Cobbers, who are now 4-3 in all games, 3-2 in conference play and 2-0 in the Skyline Division.

Junior quarterback Cooper Mattern once again put up huge numbers. He was 14-for-23 for 261 yards and threw for four more touchdowns. Mattern has now thrown for nine scores in the past two games. In addition to racking up big yards with his arm, Mattern torched the Scots' defense with his legs. He rushed for a career-high 162 yards on 11 carries and scored on a 65-yard scamper.

Concordia took a 7-0 lead on a Mattern to Ben Blancas 53-yard pass play. The TD catch and run would be the first of two scores for Blancas on the day. He also made a highlight reel catch at the end of the first quarter to stake CC to a 28-8 lead.

Colin Conteh scored the next two TDs for the Cobbers to push the lead to 21-0, but then the Scots came up with a 35-yard TD pass and a safety when Concordia had a punt snap sail over punter Damien Silus' head, who was then forced to kick the ball out of the back of the endzone.

Junior wide receiver Owen Miller had the other scores for the offense. He was wide open on a 20-yard TD strike at the end of the second quarter and then made an unbelievable over-the-shoulder catch in the corner of the end zone with 5:34 left in the third quarter to finish off the scoring at 49-8.

While the offense was moving the ball up-and-down the field, the defense was putting the clamps on one of the top passing games in the MIAC. The Black Shirts limited Macalester to 178 passing yards – only the second time this year that the Scots have been held under 200 passing yards.

The defense was also setting up the offense with four interceptions, which the CC offense turned into 21 points. The four interceptions are one more than the Cobbers had in the first six games of the year.   

Griffin Decker, Mitchell Sullivan, Jaiden Musse and Derek Dorsey had the four "picks" for Concordia. For Sullivan, Musse and Dorsey, it was their first interception of the season, while Decker now leads Concordia with two interceptions.

Senior linebacker PJ Parmelee led the team with 8.0 total tackles and 1.0 tackles for a loss.

The defense also combined for 5.0 tackles for a loss. Senior Collin Thompson added to his league-leading total. He had 1.0 tackles for a loss and has 14.5 for the year. He is 3.0 tackles for a loss away from the school record, which was set by Nate Adams and Ryan Albrecht in 2013 and 1998.

UP NEXT: Concordia will hit the road for another Skyline Division clash. The Cobbers will face Augsburg on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis.  

CONCORDIA vs. MACALESTER HIGHLIGHTS: