15 Unanswered Points Dampens Home Opener

MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/24/22)--- Concordia allowed 15 unanswered points in a span of 6:16 sandwiched around the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth period against Gustavus, and dropped a 23-6 decision in the conference opener for both teams.

The Cobbers got to within two points midway through the third quarter when Cooper Mattern found senior Jake Evans in the right side of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown strike.

Gustavus (2-1, 1-0 MIAC) would then score with 3:48 left in the third period to push the lead to nine points, before getting the insurance score at the 12:32 mark of the fourth quarter.

The game was a defensive affair with both teams holding the opposing offense to under 275 yards of total offense.

Concordia (2-1, 0-1 MIAC) limited the high-powered Gustie offense to 267 yards, with only 72 on the ground, while Gustavus held the CC offense to 215 total offensive yards.

Turnovers played a key role in the game. The Cobbers' lone score on the day came after they recovered a fumble at the Gustie 37-yard line. GAC put the game away in the fourth quarter when they came up with the only interception of the day and turned it into a 30-yard "Pick 6".

MOMENT THAT MATTERED: Perhaps the pivotal point of the game came on the drive directly after the Cobbers cut the lead to 8-6. Gustavus drove the ball down the field, but then the CC Black Shirt defense tightened, and forced a 4th-and-6 situation from the Concordia 39-yard line. Unfortunately for the Cobbers, a Gustavus wide receiver was able to get behind the defense and catch a 39-yard TD pass to put GAC up 15-6.

HOME OPENER HISTORY: The loss in the home opener marks only the third time in the last 15 seasons that Concordia has dropped the home opener. CC was 12-1 in home openers before last season. Head Coach Terry Horan is now 17-4 in his 21 home openers at The Jake.  

NO COVER JINX: Senior linebacker Noah Jenson was featured on the cover of the GameDay program, and proceeded to turn in the top stat performance on defense for CC. He finished the day with 14 total tackles – including 1.5 for a loss. Jenson currently leads the team in tackles with 29 which is second most in the MIAC this year.

SACK MAN: Junior Collin Thompson posted a career-high 2.0 sacks in the game. He had a total o 2.0 sacks in all of last season and matched that total on Saturday. He has 2.5 sacks for the year which is tied for third in the conference.   

ALL HE DOES IS CATCH TOUCHDOWNS: Senior Jake Evans has turned into the Cobbers' "go to" guy in the red zone. He scored the only TD of the game for CC on a 10-yard strike from Mattern. He had two catches on the day for 17 yards. Evans has six total catches on the year, and leads the team with three scoring receptions.                

UP NEXT: Concordia face their first road conference game of the year next weekend when they travel to Collegeville to take on No.2-ranked St. John's on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m.  

CONCORDIA vs. GUSTAVUS HIGHLIGHTS