With a possible conference title and NCAA Division III tournament berth at stake over the last few weeks of this 2009 season, it's hard to imagine anything overshadowing Concordia Chicago's 44-27 victory over host Aurora University this afternoon. But Cougars running back Khyree Copeland (Jacksonville, FL/Potter's House Academy) just might have accomplished the feat.

Copeland ran for 221 yards and three touchdowns, setting new school records for single-game, season and career rushing yardage on the same day. The 5'8" junior scored three touchdowns, including runs of 80 and 66 yards, in leading the Cougars to a team-record eighth win that surpasses the seven-win seasons of the 1968 and 1987 teams. Moreover, Concordia put itself to win the Northern Athletics Conference title and the automatic playoff berth that accompanies it simply by winning next week's home contest versus Benedictine University.

Copeland remarked afterwards that "I knew that the game plan had me getting the ball a lot, but I never dreamed that it would go like this today. I give all the credit to my offensive line for playing great in front of me and opening up the holes."

D.J. Cooper (St. Peters, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) got the Cougars started early with an interception off a tipped pass. Concordia cashed in immediately as Jonathan Johnson (Miami Gardens, FL/Norland) caught a screen pass from Mike Marotta (Brookfield, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) and weaved his way through traffic into the end zone for the 24-yard score. The extra point by Andrew Shine (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) put the Cougars up 7-0 less than a minute into the game.

The combination of Marotta and Johnson struck again just a few minutes later after the Cougar defense forced the Spartans into a three-and-out. This time, a deep fly pattern down the left sideline found Johnson behind the coverage for a 42-yard strike, and the Cougars lead was 14-0 with 11:59 remaining in the opening quarter.

Aurora came back in lightning fashion as Ryne Reder got loose on an 87-yard jaunt to the end zone. The extra point was missed, leaving Concordia's lead at 14-6.

On the ensuing possession, the Cougars were stopped on fourth-and-inches at midfield. The Spartans looked to even the score as they drove to the 34, and the Cougars dodged a bullet as a fourth down pass from Noah Martin to Ryan Milus that looked like a sure touchdown was just overthrown.

Before the Cougar defense could catch their breath, Concordia's offense came up with the quick score. Copeland scored on a brilliant 66-yard run, breaking numerous tackles along the way. The run was the second-longest of his career and gave the Cougars a 21-6 advantage.

Following another three-and-out, the Cougars went to work again. Copeland broke off a 36-yard run on the next possession to give Concordia a first-and-goal at the five. On the next play, Justin Peacock (Elmhurst, IL/York Community) barreled into the end zone for the score and a 28-6 lead, still with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

On the final play of the quarter, the Cougars were on the move again as Marotta connected with Mike Egebrecht (Wheeling, IL/Buffalo Grove) for 55 yards on a third-and-11 to the Spartans 15. However, two penalties knocked the Cougars back 10 yards, and Marotta was then sacked, the ball coming loose for an Aurora defender to recover. That led to a Spartans score as Zach Sitter caught a long pass, bounced off two tacklers and raced in with a 55-yard touchdown reception to bring Aurora within 28-13.

Late in the half, Reder picked up a big first down at the Cougar 46 to keep a Spartans drive alive. Reder added a 22-yard run to the 24 and, on the next play, a perfectly executed play-action found Young all alone in the end zone, and the Spartans closed to within 28-20. The Cougars held their eight-point lead to the end of the high-octane half that saw the two teams combine for 589 yards of offense.

Copeland reached a milestone on the first play of the second-half as his one-yard run gave him 2,192 for his career, surpassing Al Behnke's record from 1961-64. The drive turned into the Cougars longest of the day, both in yards (80) and in time of possession (nearly eight minutes), and it turned into points as Copeland went over from one yard out. However, the extra point was blocked, leaving the Cougars with a 14-point edge.

The Cougar defense forced another three-and-out, capped off by a Cory Howard (Ocala, FL/Vanguard) sack. However, Concordia gave the ball right back to Aurora as Marotta was sacked, the fumble recovered by the Spartans at the 24. Aurora turned the miscue into points as Young caught his second touchdown pass of the day from Martin, this from nine yards out with 59 seconds left in the third. The Cougars went into the final quarter, leading 34-27.

A couple of big plays and one break helped the Cougars to their next score. Marotta hit Johnson for 16 yards on a third-and-14 to get the Cougars out of trouble deep in their own zone. A facemask penalty got Concordia out of another jam, and a big third-down pass to Savonte Hunt (Archer, FL/Buchholz) put Concordia down at the Aurora 22. The Spartans kept the Cougars out of the end zone, but Shine put the points on the board with a 31-yard field goal, making the score Concordia 37, Aurora 27 with 8:33 remaining.

Aurora drove inside the red zone on their next possession, but Concordia's defense held, and the Spartans came away scoreless as Ryan Subick's 30-yard field goal was wide left. The Cougars took over with 2:31 left, and Copeland promptly put the game on ice with an 80-yard touchdown run that gave him the single-game record of 221 yards (topping Adoko Neil's 205 in 1992) and CUCs season record of 882 (Mike Bearman, 834 in 1974).

Head coach Lonnie Pries said of the win, which was sealed with Jarin Davis (Jacksonville, FL/Potter's House Academy) sixth interception (tying a team record) on Aurora's last-ditch drive, "This was huge, especially after such an emotional win over Concordia Wisconsin last week. You hope that the team doesn't come out flat, and we came out with a great first quarter before we did go a little flat in the second. But our players really persevered, our seniors kept everyone focused, and we kept at it until we got it done."

Looking at next week's Benedictine game, Pries noted that "they are a strong defensive team, and they will no doubt give us their best effort of the year. We realize that we have a huge target on our back right now, and we are coming off two very emotional wins. It will be important to have a good week of practice, not get overconfident, and just focus on this game and not look past it." While the Cougars are in uncharted waters heading into game number ten, Copeland stated that "we have a veteran team, and I feel that we have the players, skills and attitude to get it done."

The Cougars will kick off against Benedictine next Saturday at 12:30, a half-hour earlier than usual. It will be Hall of Fame Day as well as Senior Day, and the Cougars will honor six of their senior players in a pre-game ceremony.