Mattern's Record-Setting Day Not Enough In Season Finale

MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/11/23)---Junior quarterback Cooper Mattern came through with a quartet of single-season school records in the Cobbers' 48-21 season-finale loss to No.20-ranked St. John's in the annual MIAC Championship Week crossover game.

The Cobbers were able to within 13 points at the halftime break when Mattern made a nifty on-the-run throw just before he crossed over the line of scrimmage to find Jed Klang in the back of the end zone for a 43-yard TD pass.

Unfortunately for Concordia, they couldn't keep the offensive momentum going at the start of the second half, had to punt after six plays on their first drive of the third quarter and then had the Johnnies score on their second drive to up the lead to 34-14.

The loss ends Concordia's season at 5-5 in all games and 4-4 in conference play. St. John's is now 8-2 in all games and 7-1 in the MIAC.

All three of the Cobbers' touchdowns came from extraordinary individual efforts. Mattern had a hand in all three CC scores. In addition to his run-and-gun to Klang, he also had a pilon dive for a 2-yard TD run and connected with Dawson Schaffer on a 12-yard TD throw after a Patrick Mahomes-esque scramble escape in the fourth quarter.

The Cobber came up with a pair of interceptions in the game. Senior linebacker PJ Parmelee recorded the first when he latched on to a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage.

Stuart DeMerit had the other "pick" when he outfought a Johnnie receiver for the ball at the Concordia 2-yard-line on the first possession of the second half.  

Concordia finished the day with 17 first downs and 268 yards of total offense. CC had 241 passing yards in the game.

Mattern passed for 241 yards and was 21-for-43 with an interception and two touchdowns. Mattern finished the year with 25 TD passes which is a new single-season program record. He also finished the year by throwing for 2,446 yards and gaining 2,970 yards of total offense per game. Both numbers are new school marks.

Mattern was also responsible for 30 TDs, which breaks the old mark of 28 set by Brian Schumacher in 2004.

Joey Headrick caught the most passes in the game for CC. He had five catches for 27 yards. Owen Miller had four grabs for a team-high 95 yards.

Ty Moser finished his career by coming away with a game-high 13 tackles and 3.0 tackles for a loss with 1.0 sacks. Mitchell Sullivan had nine tackles and two pass breakups.

CONCORDIA vs. ST. JOHN'S HIGHLIGHTS