The Concordia Wisconsin Falcons found themselves trailing by 14 early in the second half, but battled back behind quarterback James Linn to defeat Wisconsin Lutheran College on Saturday, 39-38. Linn threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns leading the team to 22 second half points. Nick Yockey threw for a career high 474 yards and four touchdowns in the loss. The Warriors dropped to 1-1.

The Falcons got off to a great start. After returning the opening kickoff to the Wisconsin Lutheran 44, the team moved to the Warriors 13 before turning the ball over on downs.

From there, Yockey led his team on an impressive six play, 80-yard drive. The Warriors quarterback started the drive with a 25-yard strike to Justin Parbs before hitting Orlando Nicksion for 13 yards. It looked like the drive may stall at the Concordia 36, where the team faced a fourth and 4, but Yockey went back to pass, hitting Mike DuPree down the middle for a 36-yard touchdown putting WLC on top 7-0.

The Warriors added a 23-yard field goal by Anthony Ziegler on their next drive. Starting from their own 19-yard line, Wisconsin Lutheran moved 78 yards in 13 plays before stalling at the Concordia Wisconsin three.

Concordia came away empty-handed on each of their first three possessions, but got on the board 2:55 into the second quarter. After Yockey’s punt pinned the Falcons at their own 5-yard line, Linn led an impressive drive, getting out of trouble on a third and 4 when he found Tanner Hill for a 45-yard strike into WLC territory. After 11 and 19-yard completions moved the Falcons to the Warriors 7-yard line, Colin Rerecich carried the ball on the next two plays, scoring from 1-yard out to put Concordia Wisconsin down by three.

The Warriors responded right away, moving 75 yards in seven plays to extend their lead back to 10. Parbs began the drive with back-to-back carries, first for 15 yards, then for eight. Yockey took over from there, completing his next four passes with the final hitting Jordan Jewell for a 9-yard touchdown.

Two possessions later, Concordia Wisconsin added a 26-yard field goal off the foot of Mason Kaschinske. The Falcons then tied the score on their next possession, moving 68 yards in six plays. Linn led the way once again, getting the team out of trouble on a second and 10 play from their own 47 when he found Tim Houlihan over the middle for 30 yards. Two plays later, it was the Linn to Houlihan combination once again, finding his receiver for 19 yards and a touchdown to tie the score at 17.

There was just 31 seconds left in the half, and it looked like the two teams were going into the locker room with the score tied, but WLC Head Coach Eric Treske had other ideas. Yockey led the way, beginning the drive with three straight completions that move the team inside the Concordia Wisconsin 42. On third and 8 from the 40 and with just four seconds left, the team dialed up the Hail Mary. Yockey’s pass made it to the end zone where Nicksion hauled it in for the 40-yard touchdown, sending the Warriors into the locker room with a 24-17 lead.

Wisconsin Lutheran College came out in the second half and extended their lead back to 14. Yockey completed his first four passes, moving the team down to the Concordia Wisconsin 27. It looked like the drive may stall at the 23 when the team was faced with a third and 6, but Yockey came through once again, hitting Nicksion for a 23-yard touchdown to make it 31-17.

The Falcons had turned the ball over on downs in their first possession of the second half, but scored in their second. Starting from their own 46, Linn earned first downs with a 12-yard run and a 16-yard pass to Christian Booker. Michael Joshua, Jr. moved the ball to the Wisconsin Lutheran 14 on a 12-yard rush. On second and 6 at the 10, Linn connected with Houlihan for the second time in the contest, cutting the deficit to eight.

On their first possession of the fourth quarter, the Falcons tied the score. The big play of the drive came on second and 10 at their own 40 when Linn connected with Hill for 28 yards down to the Wisconsin Lutheran 32. A 19-yard completion moved the ball to the 13, where will Linn kept the ball on third and 10, racing for the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was good, tying the score at 31.

WLC responded, moving 68 yards in nine plays to retake the lead. Yockey took what the defense was offering him, completing four straight passes for 47 yards, moving his team down to the 14. On second and 10, Yockey kept the ball, racing to the 1-yard line before being tackled. On the next play, Parbs burst through the line to put his team back on top by seven.

That gave Linn the ball with 3:27 left on the clock and his team 41 yards away. The Falcons quarterback began the drive with a 10-yard strike to Houlihan and an 11-yard completion to Rerecich. Linn gained 9 yards on the ground on the next play, but faced a third and 1 at the WLC 31. Joshua took the carry on the third-down play, rushing 23 yards down to the Warriors eight. Two straight incompletions created a third and goal at the 8-yard line. Linn faded back, finding Booker in the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was good, giving the Falcons the lead, 39-38.

That gave the Warriors the ball at their own 29-yard line with 46 seconds left. A 29-yard moved the ball to the Concordia 33. Two plays later, Yockey went to the end zone, but Evan Lischka picked off the pass to seal the victory.

Yockey set several single-game highs, completing 34 of 58 passes for 474 yards and four touchdowns. Jewell had seven receptions for 129 yards and a score and Nicksion made seven receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Parbs had 65 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 attempts. Parbs added seven receptions for 73 yards, giving him 138 yards on the day.

Nathan Ewaskowitz recorded two sacks for the Warriors. Mykael Ignaszak had 10 tackles and a sack.

Linn had a huge day for the Falcons as well, completing 26 of 44 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns. The Falcons QB also carried the ball 15 times for 63 yards and a score. Houlihan had 10 catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Hill had six receptions for 118 yards.

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By Robert Pannier