14-Point, 4th-Quarter Comeback Falls Short at Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (9/02/23)----With the temperature locked in at 90-degrees for the entire game in Eau Claire, Wis., Concordia rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter only to have their comeback effort fall just short. Wis.-Eau Claire earned a 31-28 win when they connected on a game-winning field goal with 25seconds left in regulation.

Junior quarterback Cooper Mattern connected on four touchdown passes as the Cobbers outgained the Blugolds 447-407 in total offensive yards.
 
Concordia made a pair of comebacks in the game. They fell behind 8-0 on Eau Claire's third possession of the opening quarter, but then rolled for 14 consecutive points on a pair of Mattern TD darts. The Cobbers' opening TD of the year came on a 45-yard hookup between Mattern and Dawson Schaffer. It would be the first of two scoring connections for the pair.

The Cobbers took their first lead of the game on the first play of their very next possession. After the Blugolds went 3-and-out, Mattern lofted a strike to senior wideout Ben Blancas, who ran under the perfectly timed ball and beat the defender to the endzone for a 61-yard touchdown strike.

Eau Claire scored on the seventh play of their next drive to grab a 15-14 lead at the halftime break.

The Blugolds owned the third quarter. They put up a pair of touchdowns, but the Cobbers' special teams came up with the play of the quarter when they blocked an extra point to keep CC within 14 points at 28-14.

Concordia started their fourth-quarter comeback on the first possession of the final period of play. Mattern found Schaffer wide open on the right sideline, and he was able to stride home for a 12-yard scoring play.

The Cobber defense shut down the Blugolds on their next two drives to set up the game-tying score. Mattern drove the offense 55 yards in six plays, culminating with an 8-yard pass to Jed Klang with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter. The TD was Klang's first collegiate score and set up the dramatic finish.

Eau Claire got the ball on their own 19-yard line and went 65 yards in 13 plays to set up the 33-yard field goal that won the game.

The final stat sheet was almost a deadlock. CC held a slight advantage in total yards and passing yards (367-315), while Eau Claire had a narrow edge in rushing yards (92-80) and time of possession (30:53-29:07).

Mattern finished the opener by throwing for 367 yards and went 22-for-42 with one interception. His four TD tosses match his career high. He also threw four scoring strikes in the Cobbers' win over Presentation last year.

Schaffer came away with the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. He caught six passes for 112 yards. Owen Miller also came away with six receptions and had 79 receiving yards.

Zavier Carroll led the Cobber ground game. He ran the ball 19 times for 66 yards.

Junior kicker Damien Silus was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra point attempts and averaged 33.8 yards on his four punts.    

Senior captain PJ Parmelee led the Black Shirts with nine total tackles. Quin Miller had a team-high six solo take downs, while Jaiden Musse recovered the ball on CC's only takeaway of the day.

UP NEXT: Concordia will host Pacific Lutheran in the 2023 home opener on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. The Lutes dropped a 24-14 decision at home against Redlands on Saturday.