The Big Play Spurs the Concordia Cobbers onto Victory, 34-7
Many people may not be aware of this, but Concordia College likes to think big as a football team. They have big aspirations of winning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) title. They have big dreams of being a top-10 football team in the country. They have a big-time quarterback in Griffin Neal, and big hitters and play-makers on defense. They are a team that knows how to think and play big.
On a day where the Cobbers were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the schools 1964 NAIA championship, the team proved that they are especially adept at two other big things – the big play and the big drive. Concordia rode the wave of 16 plays of 10-yards or longer, got three turnovers and two sacks from their defense, and had a 99-yard scoring drive en route to a 34-7 win over the Carleton Knights. Big-time? You bet.
For much of the first quarter, mistakes and huge defensive plays kept both teams off the scoreboard. The Cobbers were forced into three-n-outs on each of their first two drives, and a fumble on a punt return in what would have been their third drive resulted in Carleton gaining possession at the Concordia 19 yard-line. Time for the Cobbers defense to come-up big?
Concordia had held the Knights to seven plays and 22 yards in their first two possessions, but now they were faced with the task of shutting down Carleton on a drive that started inside their own red-zone. Just the kind of challenge this defense rises too. Carleton QB Zach Creighton ran on first and ten and gained nine yards down to the Concordia 10-yard line. On his next play he tried to set-up a short pass, but Nate Adams read it perfectly and picked off the ball, getting his team out of trouble.
The play by the All-American got his team fired up, and the offense proceeded to mount an attack. Behind their star quarterback the Cobbers moved the ball to the 36-yard line, where they were held to a fourth and eight. On a day not conducive for kicking long field goals, Concordia Coach Terry Horan opted to go for it, and his QB rewarded him. Neal found a wide open Jon Baune streaking over the middle and hit him in stride for the 36-yard score, giving the Cobbers a 7-0 lead. The score began a string of three straight possessions where Concordia got into the end-zone.
On their next possession Neal’s first pass went to Rick Hutchinson for a 31-yard gain down to the Carleton 29. On the next play Neal handed off to Zach Southwick. His offensive line parted the Knights defense like Moses parting the Red Sea, and Southwick raced the distance untouched for the score.
On their next possession Neal led a five-play, 52-yard drive that resulted in another touchdown pass by the QB, this time to Brandon Zylstra. Neal completed all three of his passes on the drive, including a 19-yarder to Zylstra and the 14-yard touchdown strike to the wide out. In a matter of 16 minutes the Cobbers turned a scoreless tie into a rout, and they were just getting started.
The Knights would get on the board just before half. The Carleton defense held the Cobbers and forced a punt with 1:24 left in the first half. Beginning from their own 35, Creighton ran for nine yards, and on the next play Chris Madden found daylight and took it 50-yards before being brought down by Matt Ahrndt. Crieghton’s pass then found Matt Mensinger and Carleton had a touchdown. That is how the first half would end with Concordia leading 20-7.
The second half began with Carleton receiving the kickoff, and it looked like Creighton was going to lead the team on a drive that would put them within one score. On the third play of the series, the Knights QB found daylight and looked like he was going all the way to the house, but Mitch Tauer chased down Creighton and stripped the ball forcing a fumble. The football continued to roll forward before Dan Berdan finally fell on it at the one-yard line, giving the Cobbers the possesion.
Starting with the goal-line at their backs, the Cobbers mounted a 99-yard drive that took 16-plays and 8:30 off of the clock before fullback Domenic Fraboni punched it in from two yards out to make it 27-7. Tauer had clearly made the biggest play of the game. In one play he had set in motion a 14-point swing on the scoreboard, and put to rest any chance the Knights had of getting back into the contest.
The score remained a 20-point Cobbers lead until 6:11 left in the game. That is when fullback Alex McLean capped off a seven-play, 48-yard drive with a two-yard run for a touchdown of his own. That would be the last points that either team would put up.
Neal finished the day 14-24 for 203 yards and two touchdowns. The Cobbers secondary completely shutdown the Knights passing game, holding Creighton to 7-15 passing for 43 yards and two interceptions. Concordia’s offense put up 242 yards on the ground, led by Southwick’s 83-yards on eight carries. Creighton had 150 rushing yards and Madden added 118 more for the Knights.
Carleton will head home to face the St. Olaf Oles next Saturday. The Cobbers travel to Minneapolis to face the 2-3 Augsburg Auggies. That game will be the MIAC Featured Game of the Week on the Minor League Sports Report.
By Robert Pannier