Another High-Scoring, Drama-Filled Thriller With St. John's

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/12/24)---It was another late-game, high-scoring thriller between Concordia and St. John's. In a game that featured five tie scores, a combined total of 69 points and 1,053 yards, it came down to the final two minutes to decide the outcome.

Concordia fell behind for the first time in the classic with 1:46 left in the fourth quarter and nearly tied the game on the final possession, but a pass into the endzone as time expired was just deflected out of the hands of a Cobber wide receiver.

The decisive 76-yard touchdown pass proved to be the difference in the Cobbers' 38-31 loss against St. John's.

The 31 points scored by Concordia is the most allowed by St. John's in a game this season and the highest total since the middle of last season. It is also the most points scored by the Cobbers against the Johnnies since the 2012 season when they posted a 31-21 win at home.  

The defeat is the first in MIAC play for the Cobbers this year. CC is now 3-2 in all games and 2-1 in conference play. The Johnnies remain unbeaten at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the MIAC.

Concordia started the back-and-forth, "point-counter point" affair when Damien Silus knocked home a 31-yard field goal on the team's first possession of the game. The field goal was set up by a Ryan Weber interception on the second play of the game after SJU received the opening kickoff.

The turnover ended the Johnnies' 8-game streak of scoring on their opening possession of the game.   

St. John's would tie the game for the first time on the next drive when they went 69 yards in 13 plays before the Cobber "Black Shirt" defense came up with a stop on a 3rd-and-goal situation from the 6-yard line.

The game was deadlocked at 3-3 after the first quarter and went into hyperdrive in the second 15 minutes of play. Both teams scored three touchdowns in the second quarter as they combined for 42 points, 17 first downs and 394 yards.

The theme of the second quarter was: Concordia score, St. John's counter. The Cobbers scored first on 2-yard smashing run from Jordan Summers. SJU came back with a 4-yard TD pass.

CC retook the lead on an 80-yard, no-look pass from Cooper Mattern to Jed Klang. Mattern faked out the Johnnies' defense at the line by looking into the middle of the field. He then threw the ball to Klang in the flat and Klang did the rest, racing 80 yards to the house.

The Johnnies needed seven plays to tie the game at 17-17 with 5:47 left in the half.

The Cobbers took the ball and marched 52 yards on six plays with Klang hauling in his second score of the game on a 7-yard strike from Mattern.

St. John's finished off the wild second quarter when they went 70 yards in five plays and capped the scoring in the half with a 4-yard TD pass.

The teams, and fans, took a break in the third quarter with Concordia putting up the only points on the board. Owen Miller came through with an acrobatic catch with a pair of SJU defenders draped all over him in the front of the endzone on a 15-yard touchdown reception.

The Cobbers entered the fourth quarter with a 31-24 lead but SJU tied the game for the fifth time on their first possession of the final period on a drive that started at the end of the third quarter.         

The game would stay knotted at 31-31 until the final two minutes when the Johnnies took possession on their own 10-yard line. The game-winning drive was only three plays and culminated in the long go route down the right side of the field.

The Cobbers nearly tied the game on the final possession. They took possession on their own 24-yard line and seven plays later, had the ball 1st-and-10 at the SJU 20-yard line. A sack, 7-yard pass play and a pair of incompletions ended the Cobbers' buzzer-beating hopes.

Concordia posted a season-high 515 offensive yards. Mattern was 25-for-40 for 396 yards and three touchdown strikes. He has thrown for at least three TDs in four straight games and has 15 on the season. His 396 passing yards were a season-high for the senior signal caller.

Mattern also controlled the game with his run game. He routinely found space on the QB draw and ran for a season-high 78 yards.  

Klang and Miller both caught six passes with Klang coming away with two touchdown receptions and a career-high 168 receiving yards. Miller had one TD catch and 66 receiving yards.

Summers added 38 rushing yards and accounted for the fourth Cobber score.

Stuart DeMerit and PJ Parmelee both had 9.0 total tackles in the game.

Weber came up with one of the two Cobber turnovers on the day. His first-quarter interception was his first career pick. Mitchell Sullivan fell on the only fumble in the game after Jaiden Musse punched the ball free on a Johnnies' drive in the third quarter.   

Concordia will hit the road for the next two games. The Cobbers will open their 2-game trip when they play at Hamline on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.