Tough Times In Whitewater

STORY LINE: Concordia gave up the first 24 points of the game – all in the first half and lost 24-6 at No.12-ranked Wis.-Whitewater. The Cobbers outscored the Warhawks 6-0 in the second half but weren't able to erase the 24-point deficit.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES: Concordia allowed 252 yards of offense and 13 first downs in the first half. The Cobber Black Shirt defense made adjustments at the half and then only gave up 83 total yards and eight first downs in the second half. On offense CC could only muster five first downs and 73 yards in the first two quarters of play but then put up 100 yards and six first downs in the second half.

TWO BIG TURNOVERS: Concordia was plus-1 in the turnover battle but their two turnovers were costly. The Cobbers fumbled twice in the game. The first came at the end of the first half when they tried to run a "hook and ladder" play with 9-seconds left in second quarter. The pitch back to the second receiver was fumbled and Whitewater was able to pick up the loose ball and run it into field goal territory with less than 1-second left on the clock. UWW then converted the field goal attempt to take a 24-0 lead into the break.

The second big fumble came at the start of the fourth quarter with Concordia trailing 24-6. After senior Jake Erholtz picked off a pass and returned it to the UWW 49-yard line, the Cobbers drove the ball all the way to the Warhawk 4-yard line. Unfortunately a fumble derailed the offense and the Cobbers could never get the ball over midfield for the remainder of the game.

DANE TRAIN: Senior running back Dane Ringquist led the Cobber offense with 60 rushing yards. He had 12 yards on four carries in the first half but then ran the ball eight times for 48 yards in the second half.

2017 PASS TD TOTAL EQUALED: Concordia's lone score of the game came on a 10-yard pass from Blake Kragnes to Ryan Cihak. It was the Cobbers' third TD pass in the first two games of the year which equals the team total from the entire 2017 season.

BERG BOOMERS: Senior Alex Berg is one of the leaders of the Cobber Black Shirts but pulls double duty as the punter. On Saturday Berg punted 10 times and averaged 41.9 yards per game. He also connected on a season-high 55-yard rocket. That is just two yards shy of his career best which came in last year's season finale at St. John's. Berg is now averaging 40.8 yards per punt this season.

BALL HAWKS: Concordia came away with three interceptions on Saturday. Both Will Berning and Jake Erholtz grabbed their second "pick" of the year while Aaron Ahrndt did his best juggling act to come away the third INT of the game. The Cobbers now have five interceptions on the year which leads the MIAC and is in the Top 10 of Division III.

NASTY NOAHS: Concordia senior defenders Noah Welsh and Noah Taylor combined for 15 tackles and one sack. Welsh had the team's lone sack of the day.

A-T: Andrew Thompson led all players with 10 tackles in the game. He had leads the team in tackles this season with 16.

UP NEXT: Concordia will open MIAC play next weekend. The Cobbers will travel to Minneapolis to take on Augsburg on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. The Auggies are 2-0 on the year and are coming off a 27-24 win at Concordia (Wis.).     

CONCORDIA at WIS.-WHITEWATER HIGHLIGHTS: