Cobber Comeback At Carleton Comes Up Short

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (11/12/22)---Concordia's fourth-quarter comeback fell short as the Cobbers lost 17-14 at Carleton in the final game of the 2022 season.

Concordia trailed 17-0 heading into the final 15-minutes of play, and then got a pair of touchdown passes from junior quarterback Cooper Mattern to get to within three points at 17-14. Unfortunately for the Cobbers, the comeback trail ended there with the Knights being able to run out the final 6:55 of play with a 14-play drive that ended at the CC 7-yard line.

Concordia finishes the season with a 5-5 overall record, and a 3-5 mark against conference opponents. Carleton ends the year at 7-3 in all games and 5-3 vs. league teams.

One of the key factors in the game came in the turnover department. Both of the Knights' touchdowns were direct results of a Cobber miscue. Carleton scores its first TD on a 42-yard interception return on Concordia's first possession of the game.

The Cobbers fumbled on their second drive, but the CC defense was able to hold Carleton on a 4th-and-5 play to get the ball back in their own territory. The Knights came up with their second interception of the game on Concordia's third possession, and turned that into their second score on a 15-play, 61-yard drive.

Neither team was able to gain big chunks of yardage in the second quarter. Concordia had a pair of chances in the Carleton red zone in the second quarter, but each time a turnover derailed the scoring drive and the score remained 14-0 at the halftime break.   

Carleton pushed the lead to 17-0 on a 38-yard field goal on their second possession of the third quarter.

The Cobbers started their comeback path on the drive that ended the third quarter and started the fourth. CC drove the ball 75 yards down to the Carleton 1-yard line, and was facing a 3rd-and-goal situation from the 1-yard line. After two missed running chances, the Cobbers dialed up a fade route to the back-left corner of the endzone and senior Jake Evans came up with the huge TD catch over the top of the Carleton defender.

The teams traded drives that never gained more than 26 yards. After the Knights' second possession gave the ball back to Concordia at the CC 35-yard line, the Cobbers got a key 15-yard pass interference call followed by a 7-yard completion to Wyatt Curtis. Mattern then heaved a pass to Owen Miller who came down with the ball and walked into the end zone on a 41-yard TD pass.

The Knights then ran out the clock with 11 rushes that drove the ball down to the CC 7-yard line with 1:49 left in the game. Concordia called its final timeout with Carleton facing a 4th-and-1 play, but the Knights were able to convert on a second-effort run and then ran out the clock with a pair of kneel downs.

Concordia held a 362-254 advantage in total offensive yards. The Cobbers had a balanced offensive attack with 169 rushing yards and 193 yards through the air.

In the end, the stat category that was the biggest came from turnovers. Concordia turned the ball over six times with three fumbles and three interceptions.

Peyton Mortenson finished his college career with another 100-yard rushing game. He carried the ball 21 times and gained 119 yards. It was his second straight 119-yard rushing game, and the fifth time he broke the 100-yard rushing mark this season.

Mortenson finished his career with 1,597 rushing yards which is 12th on the school's all-time career rushing list.

Mattern was 13-for-25 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Mattern had at least two touchdown passes in the last three CC games, and posted 18 TD strikes on the year.

Miller and Curtis led the Cobber receiving corps with three catches each. Miller had three receptions for 75 yards, while Curtis had 3 catches for 41 yards.

In a fitting end to the season, the Cobber defense was once again led by the senior inside linebacking tandem of Noah Jenson and Ty Moser. Both players had double-digit tackle totals on the day. Jenson had a game-high 13 tackles, while Moser added 11.

Jenson and Moser finished 1-2 for the Cobbers in tackles this season. Jenson led the squad with 94, and Moser had 58. Jenson's 94 tackles was tops in the MIAC.