he Cougars' first on the Falcons' home field since 1987 and second straight over their archrivals following last year's thrilling 22-21 Homecoming win.
The Cougars won the toss and deferred their option, kicking off to the Falcons to start the game. The Falcons started at the 29 and picked up two first downs before Matt Boswell's (DesPlaines, IL/Maine West) pressure on a third-and-four forced an incomplete and an end to the hosts' opening drive.
Khyree Copeland (Jacksonville, FL/Potter's House Academy) got the Cougars moving on their first drive from the 12-yard line, covering 20 yards on his first two carries before the drive stalled. A bad snap on fourth down threatened to put the Cougars in a deep hole, but Jake Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran) chased down the ball and got off a low rugby-style kick under great pressure to pin the Falcons back at their own 35.
The Falcons moved the ball steadily downfield on their next possession, aided by a pass-interference flag on third down. However, Boswell and Jason Talos (Chicago, IL/Guerin Prep) teamed up for a sack, and CUC's defense drove the Falcons backwards on the next few plays to quell the threat.
The missed opportunities allowed the Cougars to open the scoring. A 42-yard gain on a screen to Jamal Thomas (Weirsdale, FL/Lake Weir) put the Cougars into the Falcons' territory for the first time in the game. Mike Marotta (Brookfield, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) stayed with the short passing game, completing one to Copeland for 11 yards. Copeland then took a handoff and tiptoed through the middle of the defense for 19 yards and the game's opening score. Andrew Shine (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter.
The defense came up with a three-and-out following the score, and the Cougars added to the lead. Thomas ran twice off the direct snap, the second time covering 34 yards for the touchdown. Shine added the conversion for a 14-0 lead in the final seconds of the quarter.
The Falcons recovered quickly and put together their best drive of the half. going 49 yards after a penalty on CUC's touchdown set up a short field for the hosts. Patrick Czerwiek threw four yards to Scott Schieble for the score that halved the Cougars' lead.
A 16-yard completion to Mike Egebrecht (Wheeling, IL/Buffalo Grove) started the Cougars' next drive, followed by two Copeland runs for first downs. The Falcons stopped the Cougars on the next two plays but, on third down, Marotta found Savonte Hunt (Archer, FL/Buchholz) on a short route. Hunt outraced the defender to the corner flag to complete the scoring drive. Concordia-Chicago led 21-7 with 10:21 remaining in the half.
The offenses continued to roll as the hosts came right back. The Falcons picked up a key first down on a quarterback sneak before Cwerwiek hit Leon Davis for 21 yards in the right corner of the end zone. The Cougars' lead was back down to seven points at the 6:38 mark of the second quarter.
It took just over a minute for the Cougars to restore the 14-point lead. Copeland ran twice for 49 yards, and Thomas followed with a repeat of his earlier score, taking the snap in the "Wildcat Formation" and making his way through the defense for a 39-yard score and a 28-14 lead.
Concordia Wisconsin threatened to get back within seven in the final minute of the half, but the defense stiffened and forced the hosts to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Dan Winsey. The Cougars then averted disaster when a fumble on the kickoff return was recovered by Chris Decker (Ocala, FL/St. John's Lutheran). Concordia-Chicago ran out the final seconds of the half and went to the locker room with a 28-17 lead.
The Cougars held the halftime edge in total yards 312-209 despite the facts that the Falcons had a 22-8 edge in time of possession. Copeland racked up 122 yards on 10 first-half carries while Thomas had 92 rushing yards on just three carries.
The third quarter belonged to the defenses as both teams failed to score on their first three possessions. However, the Cougars struck twice in the final 2:36 of the quarter. Marotta and Thomas executed the short screen to perfection once again, this time working it for a 47-yard touchdown. Moments later, an interception and 18-yard return by Malcolm Godwin (Ocala, FL/Vanguard) set up the offense with a short field again. Copeland cashed in the opportunity with a 10-yard run, and the Cougars led 42-17 after three quarters.
Justin Peacock (Elmhurst, IL/York Community) took over for Copeland in the backfield to start the fourth quarter, and Peacock did the bulk of the work on the Cougars' final scoring drive of the day. Peacock ran on eight of the Cougars' nine plays and rushed for a total of 36 yards including the nine-yarder that put the points on the board. With just over 10 minutes remaining, the Cougars enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 49-17.
Dan Winsey accounted for the final points of the game as he booted a 38-yard field goal to cap a Falcons' scoring drive of 12 plays, 39 yards.
Despite the Cougars finishing with 10 minutes less of possession time, they accumulated 546 yards to the Falcons' 263. Copeland finished with 184 yards on 18 carries. Thomas rushed for a career-high 86 yards on just four carries while also adding 100 yards on three pass receptions. Marotta was 10 of 18 passing for 192 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Marty Beckman (Parma, OH/Lutheran West) led the Cougars' defensive effort with nine total tackles (6-3) including three for minus-yards and a quarterback sack; Beckman leads the team in the latter category with 7.5 on the year. David Sodetz (Chicago, IL/Kennedy) recorded eight tackles while Talos, Matt Rolf (Rochester, MI/Lutheran Northwest) and Jason Mielzynski (Chicago, IL/St. Laurence) each had seven.
While the win over the Falcons was a treat for the team and its fans, the Cougars learned after the game that their hopes of advancing to the NCAA III playoffs were dashed with Benedictine's win over Rockford and Aurora's last-second win over Wisconsin Lutheran. Concordia could still tie for the regular-season conference title with Benedictine, although the Eagles would win a tiebreaker through their earlier win over the Cougars.
Concordia (7-2, 5-1 NAC) will host Aurora University at noon next Saturday. It will be Senior Day as the Cougars bid farewell to 13 seniors.
