Contrasting Offenses Lead To Late Drama

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/12/19)---On a snowy – and winter-like afternoon – Concordia gave up one of the most improbable touchdowns with 14-seconds left to play and lost 35-28 to Gustavus in the annual Homecoming game.

The Cobbers took a 1-point lead at 28-27 with a Blake Kragnes 1-yard run with 1:09 left to play but  then on a 3rd-and-10 play from their own 22-yard line, the Gustavus quarterback did his best impression of Patrick Mahomes and connected on an unbelievable 78-yard scoring strike that left the Homecoming crowd stunned.

The Gustavus signal called was flushed out of the pocket and ran to his left where he was pursued by a Cobber defensive player. The Gustie QB then threw the ball back to his right on a dead sprint and launched the ball 50 yards in the air on a perfect trajectory towards a covered wide receiver. The ball, which looked like it was placed in the wide receiver's hands, hit him in stride and he was able to shake off the CC defender and run the final 30 yards into the end zone.

Concordia was able to come up with two plays after the ensuing kickoff but bot passing attempts didn't find their marks and the Cobbers lost by seven points.

The loss drops Concordia's overall record to 2-4 on the year and the Cobbers are now 2-2 in league play. Gustavus ups its overall mark to 3-2 and they are now 1-2 in the MIAC.

The game was played on two completely different paths for each team's offense. The Cobbers stayed exclusively on the ground and ran for 228 yards while Gustavus gained almost all of their yards through the air. The Gusties racked up 395 passing yards on the cold and blustery day.

Kragnes carried the largest work load for the offense. He ran the ball 23 times and gained 127. He also scored all four of the team's touchdowns. The 23 carries, 127 rushing yards and four TDs are all single-game career highs for the senior signal caller.

Kragnes did not complete a pass in the game and threw only three passes total. He only had one passing attempt until the final 14-seconds of the game.

Senior fullback Logan Hatfield had 68 rushing yards on 14 carries.           

The two top statistical takeaways for the Cobber offense in the game is that they didn't turn the ball over and they held on to the ball for 32:25 of the game.

The defense was led by senior Maison Grefe who had eight tackles and also picked off a pass.

Linebacker Alex Berg also had eight tackles in the game while fellow senior captain Sam Michel made six tackles and came up with the interception that led to the Cobbers' go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have two weeks to prepare for their next game as they will have their annual "bye" weekend next Saturday. The Cobbers will return to action when they host Bethel on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m.

CONCORDIA vs. GUSTAVUS HIGHLIGHTS

Saturday recaps sponsored by Bufffalo Wild Wings: Grab your friends and get to B-Dubs on Sunday nights for College Nights at 9 p.m. 50% off 1 food item with ID and $3 apps at the Buffalo Wild Wings located on Hwy 10 in Moorhead.