Box Score
Oct. 23, 2010 - It was just last November that Concordia-Chicago running back Khyree Copeland (Jacksonville, FL/Potter's House Academy) had what many considered a game for the ages - a 221-yard effort at Aurora University in which he broke the single-game, season and career records all on the same day. Incredibly, Copeland duplicated that feat in this afternoon's 48-7 win over Lakeland College in front of a partisan home crowd.
While Copeland continues to add to his career record with each passing game, he left the 221-yard single-game mark in the dust with a 333-yard effort on 28 carries. The 333 yards brought his season total to an even 1,100 yards, making the 5'8" senior the first Cougar rusher to ever top the 1,000 mark in a season. Copeland had made a run at that mark last year but finished with 981 yards for the season.
There was no immediate indication as to the type of day Copeland would have as Concordia's defense set the tone in the opening minutes. The Cougars held the Muskies to a three-and-out on the first series, and Concordia's offense took advantage of a short field after a Lakeland punt against the wind went out of bounds at the Muskies' 48. Copeland's first three carries went for 18 yards, but the initial score of the game came as Mike Marotta (Brookfield, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) hit Nate Bahr (Nashotah, WI/Lake Country Lutheran) on a slant pattern, and Bahr scored from 13 yards out for a 7-0 lead - Andrew Shine (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) adding on the extra point.
The Cougars doubled their lead just 22 seconds later as free safety David Sodetz (Chicago, IL/Kennedy) timed his break perfectly on a short pass from Lakeland Quarterback Jake Dworak. Sodetz intercepted the ball at the 33 and raced untouched into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
Concordia's defense continued to stifle Lakeland's offense, forcing two more three-and-outs. After the second stop, the offense marched 80 yards to its third score of the opening quarter. Aided by a 15-yard pass to Jamal Thomas (Weirsdale, FL/Lake Weir) and Copeland's first big gainer of the day for 25 yards, the Cougars reached the Muskies' 16. From there, Marotta found Mike Egebrecht (Wheeling, IL/Buffalo Grove) for the score and a 21-0 lead.
A pass interference penalty gave Lakeland life in the second quarter, and they capitalized by scoring their only points of the game. Dworak completed passes of 19 yards to Roberto Flores and nine yards to Travis Skarda to move the Muskies into the Cougars' red zone. On a third-and-one from the 19, Justin Laack found a hole off right tackle and outraced his pursuit to the end zone. The extra point made it Cougars 21, Muskies 7 with 8:10 remaining. The score would remain that way through the end of the half, although Copeland continued to add on yards. At halftime, Copeland's totals had reached 140 yards on 18 carries.
The Cougars received the kickoff for the second half, and Copeland's assault on the single-game record accelerated into high gear. Starting at the 32-yard line, Copeland's first two runs went for 24 and five yards. On the third play of the drive, Copeland ran around the left side before cutting back across the field and covering 39 yards for the touchdown. Concordia's lead stood at 28-7 while Copeland's total climbed to 208 yards.
Following a Lakeland punt on their first series of the half, Copeland's first carry of the next series went for 23 yards, breaking his mark from last year's game against Aurora. While the Cougars did not score on this drive, they did on the following possession. After Copeland had been stopped for a loss of one yard, Marotta took advantage of Lakeland's concentration on the running back to put up a fast six points. Taking the snap, Marotta faked a handoff to Copeland and then a short pass to Thomas while Egebrecht broke completely free on the right sideline. Marotta hit Egebrecht perfectly in stride for a 63-yard touchdown, and Shine's extra point made it a 35-7 lead.
Copeland's rushing total was at 238 as the game entered the fourth quarter, but that changed in one final electrifying moment. The Cougars had taken possession at the 19, but illegal block penalties on consecutive plays put the ball back on Concordia's five-yard line. Backed up against their own end zone, the Cougars' sideline called for a quick trap play. The Lakeland defense was overloaded to one side, and Copeland slipped through the line and very quickly was off to the races down the right sideline. The run covered 95 yards - just one yard short of Concordia's record (Al Behnke, 1964) - and Copeland's second touchdown of the day was also his 12th of the season, enabling him to break his own record from each of the last two seasons.
Justin Peacock (Elmhurst, IL/York Community) took over for Copeland for the final few series, and he ran for 27 yards on three carries including an 18-yarder where he bowled over several would-be tackles. His running would set up Concordia's final score of the day which came when freshman quarterback Josh Tylski (Jacksonville, FL/Mandarin) threw a short pass to the left to Terrence Miller (Jacksonville, FL/Potter's House Academy). Miller covered most of the 30 yards after the catch down the sideline for the touchdown (extra point missed).
The Cougars finished with 572 yards of offense on 395 rushing and 177 passing. Marotta was 10 of 21 passing for 147 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Muskies finished with 157 yards of offense on 29 yards net rushing and 128 passing. Dworak completed 12 of 31 passes with three interceptions - two by Sodetz and one by Matt Rolf (Rochester, MI/Lutheran Northwest).
Concordia's defense was led by Jason Talos (Chicago, IL/Guerin Prep) and David Dwyer (St. Louis, MO/Ladue), each with eight tackles. Dominique Claridy (Jasper, FL/Hamilton County) added seven tackles and one of four quarterback sacks for the game; the other sacks were recorded by Rolf, Kasey Ray (Glendale, AZ/Barry Goldwater) and Mike Kearney (Brookfield, IL/Riverside-Brookfield).
With the victory, the Cougars (5-2, 3-1 NAC) remain one game behind Benedictine University who defeated Maranatha Baptist Bible College 49-14 today. Maranatha will host the Cougars next Saturday at 1:00 in Watertown, Wisconsin.
