Battering Running Game Punishes Jamestown in 40-13 Concordia College Win
Concordia College rolled into Jamestown looking to prove that they could dominate both sides of the line. Mission accomplished. The Cobbers rolled up 515 yards of offense, including 291 on the ground, while holding the Jimmies to 45 yards rushing in a 40-13 win. It was the exact kind of start they wanted to make a statement about how good they can be this season.
Concordia took the opening kick-off and moved right down the field. The first five plays they ran the ball, with QB Griffin Neal carrying the ball twice for 15 yards, and RBs Rick Hutchinson, Cooper Gauldin and Alex McLean having the other three carries for 25. Neal then completed passes to Bruce Shields, Jr. and Jon Baune, with Baune’s reception going for 29 yards and a touchdown. Just 4:37 into the game the Cobbers had the lead.
The score remained 7-0 through most of the rest of the first quarter, and both teams were struggling to control the line of scrimmage. Neither team was able to get much going, but in the final moments of the opening quarter Concordia finally got rolling. The Cobbers took the ball at their own 26, and after an initial pass play yielded a gain of 17 yards, they went back to the ground gaining 19 yards on five carries. Neal hit Cooper Gaudin for a 29-yard pass play down to the 7-yard line of Jamestown just before the end of the first quarter, and on the first play of the second, McLean took the hand-off 7-yards for the score. After a successful two-point conversion the Cobbers led 15-0.
Two possessions later Concordia was back on the board again. Starting at the JC 47, the Cobbers ran the ball seven times on the possession, until Neal ran in from the 2-yard line on a quarterback keeper for the score. The Cobbers had not relied on any one back to carry to load for them during the game, and this series was no exception. Four different players had carries with Neal getting the TD and Rick Hutchinson punching it for the successful two-point conversion.
Jamestown was forced to punt on their next possession, but a fumble on the return was recovered by Garrett Tenney at the Concordia 47, and JC was not going to squander this opportunity. Jimmies’ QB Beau Eriksson went to the air moving the ball to the 14-yard line. After a run netted them two yards, Eriksson threw to Gavin Farley for the touchdown and the Jimmies were finally on the board.
Concordia got the ball at their own 21 with 25 ticks left on the clock, but were not ready to just sit on it. Neal hit Devin Arnold for a 49 yard catch and run that moved the ball to the JC 30. Two plays later Ben Wagner drilled a 42-yard field goal as time expired to send the two teams into the locker room with the score 26-7.
The Cobbers defense had been the story all game long. They gave up just four first downs in the first half, and continued to stifle the Jimmies in the second half. Meanwhile, CC was putting up two more touchdowns to jump out to a 40-7 lead.
With their first possession of the half they took the ball at their own 42, and marched down the field on a 12-play drive. With Neal struggling to find his touch, the Cobbers turned to RB Cooper Gauldin, who had three carries on the drive for 25 yards, including a 6-yard TD run that capped off the drive.
Just 2:07 later the ball was back in Concordia’s hands, and this time it was Neal who was the star of the drive. Beginning at his own 25, the QB completed four of five passes for 42 yards, and also ran twice, once for 7-yards and his second attempt he took into the end zone for the score form 1-yard out. The QB really showed his poise during the drive.
Jamestown finally got back onto the scoreboard on the first play of the fourth quarter when QB Beau Eriksson hit Michael Sena on a 64-yard catch-n-run play that went for six. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Jimmies with 13 points.
The Cobbers new look defense did the job, holding the Jimmies to just 50 yards rushing. It was quite the impressive performance considering that their defense fielded six new starters from last year’s squad. It was absolutely impressive performance that saw the defense make eight tackles for losses and force two fumbles.
On the offensive side, the Cobbers moved the ball well, rolling up 515 total yards, including 291 on the ground. Neal had an exceptional day, going 13-19 for 209 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing 14 times for 54 yards and 2 TDs. Jon Baune had a big day on the receiving end of Neal’s passes, catching 6 for 125 yards and a TD.
The Cobbers will host their home opener next weekend when they square off against Buena Vista. Concordia beat the Beavers 38-14 in Iowa last season.
Robert Pannier
Associate Senior Managing Editor