Football 9/4/2010 6:17:00 PM Jim Egan, Sports Information Director

Cougars Come Out Firing, Beat Lake Forest in Season Opener

Box Score

Sept. 4, 2010 - The first game of the season for the 2010 Concordia Cougars bore a strong resemblance to the 8-2 team that featured a conference-leading offense and a much-improved defense. Quarterback Mike Marotta (Brookfield, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) threw five touchdown passes, and the Cougar defense kept host Lake Forest College under wraps in posting a 52-23 victory.

Lake Forest won the toss and elected to receive, but Concordia's defense stopped them on three plays. Following the punt, the Cougar offense went to work as the first two plays went for a 12-yard run by Khyree Copeland (Jacksonville, FL/Potter's House Academy) and a 19-yard pass from Marotta to Mike Egebrecht (Wheeling, IL/Buffalo Grove). Three plays later, Marotta hit returning receiver Jamal Thomas (Weirsdale, FL/Lake Weir) for the 11-yard strike. Concordia led 7-0 after Andrew Shine's (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) extra point with just 3:04 elapsed.

The Foresters started their next possession at the 47 after a Cougar penalty on the kick return. Concordia appeared to have the hosts stopped on downs at the 27, but a holding call gave Lake Forest new life. However, Jason Mielzynski (Chicago, IL/St. Laurence) stopped Justin Novak on a fourth-and-one sneak at the three, and Concordia took over still leading 7-0.

Later in the first quarter, Jonny Johnson's (Miami Gardens, FL/Norland) return of a short punt gave Concordia the ball at the home 37. Marotta quickly hit Egebrecht for a 28-yard gain. A holding penalty took the Cougars 10 yards back, and three straight incompletions threatened to derail the Cougars' drive, but freshman Danny Colapietro (Chicago, IL/Maine South) came on to drill a 36-yard field goal, making it a 10-0 game with 2:36 still to play in the opening quarter.

On the ensuing drive, the Foresters came up short on a fake punt at their own 40, and the Cougars went looking for more. Marotta and Thomas hooked up again on the first play of the second quarter for a 29-yard pass to the right corner of the end zone, and the lead ballooned to 17.

Concordia's defense forced another three-and-out, but a 55-yard punt put the Cougars back at their own nine. This time, the Foresters' defense held firm, and the Cougars' punt was pushed back by the wind to land at Concordia's 32. Lake Forest enjoyed their best starting position of the day, but a third down pass breakup by Daniel DeBonnett (Chicago, IL/DeLaSalle) kept the hosts out of the end zone. Lake Forest settled for a 26-yard field goal by Tim Gruzwalski with 7:55 remaining in the half, cutting Concordia's lead to 17-3.

Marotta's 29-yard pass to Johnson got the Cougars out of their own end, and a completion to Nate Bahr (Nashotah, WI/Lake Country Lutheran) gave Concordia a first down at the home 32. A pass interference penalty further helped the Cougars' cause, and Marotta would find Egebrecht for an eight-yard pass to the left side for CUC's third touchdown of the half and a 24-3 lead.

The pass defense gave the offense another opportunity as Matt Boswell's (DesPlaines, IL/Maine West) sack led to another three-and-out. Marotta and the two-minute offense drove from their own 22 to the LFC 20, but time ran out on the Cougars as they settled for the 21-point lead at the half.

Marotta finished the half 16-31 for 207 yards with Egebrecht catching five balls for 80 yards and Thomas four for 56 yards. Copeland racked up 71 yards on 14 carries as Concordia amassed 278 yards to Lake Forest's 63. Defensively, Marty Beckman (Parma, OH/Lutheran West) and Boswell were each in on five tackles.

Concordia continued to roll as Copeland broke runs of 13 and 19 yards to go over the 100 mark. a pass to Egebrecht and an additional facemask penalty took the ball down to the 14-yard line. Two plays later, Egebrecht made a nice diving catch at the goal line for his second TD reception of the day, and Shine's extra point made it 31-3 less than three minutes into the second half.

Lake Forest drove to midfield on their opening possession of the half, but Curtis Underwood (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Pope John Paul II) came up with the defense's first takeaway of the year as he intercepted a tipped pass. The Cougars did not capitalize on the opportunity but did on the next possession. Marotta led a six-play, 48-yard drive and found Thomas for his third score of the day on an 11-yard pass. The score enabled Marotta to tie the team record for most touchdown passes in a game with five.

The Foresters put together their best drive of the day on the following possession. However, the defense rose to the occasion as the home team reached the 10-yard line. Cory Howard's (Ocala, FL/Vanguard) rush on third down forced Novak into a hurried incompletion, and Dominique Claridy (Jasper, FL/Hamilton County) sacked Novak on fourth to end the threat.

The joy from the stop did not last, however, as the Cougars coughed up the ball two plays into their drive. Tanner Compton scooped up the loose ball and ran it in 13 yards for the Foresters' first touchdown. The extra point made it Concordia 38, Lake Forest 10 with 1:51 left in the third quarter.

Concordia's sixth touchdown of the day came on the ground, as Justin Peacock (Elmhurst, IL/York Community) powered in from a yard out. The senior's run finished off a 75-yard drive over 10 plays.

Lake Forest tallied their final 13 points of the game in the fourth on a Ty Van Valkenburg four-yard run and Novak's 10-yard pass to Brock Stenberg (extra point failed). In between, sophomore Jake Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran) led the Cougars to their last score of the game. Koehler rushed three times for 21 yards before finding Clinton Boyd (Chicago, IL/Michele Clark) from 16 yards out for the points.

Concordia finished with 514 total yards to Lake Forest's 251. Marotta threw for 316 yards on 24 of 42 with the five TDs and no interceptions. Copeland rushed for 134 yards on 24 carries, marking the 13th time in his career that the senior back has broken the century mark in a game.

Defensively, Claridy led the way with four solos and two tackle assists to go with the big fourth-down sack. Beckman, Boswell, Jason Mielzynski (Chicago, IL/St. Laurence) and Matt Rolf (Rochester, MI/Lutheran Northwest) were all involved in five tackles.

Fifth-year head coach Lonnie Pries said that "we did well in making some big plays on both sides of the ball in key situations and staying composed under some tough situations. That said, we had more penalties than usual (13-124) and cost ourselves some good opportunities. We will look to improve on that and be more consistent on both sides of the ball as we start preparing for next week."

The Cougars will travel to the University of Chicago for the second of three non-conference games next Saturday. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. at Chicago's Stagg Field.

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Players Mentioned

#83 Nate Bahr: WR; 5' 10"; Senior

#44 Marty Beckman: DE; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#67 Matt Boswell: DE; 5' 11"; Senior

#9 Clinton Boyd: WR; 5' 9"; Senior

#14 Dominique Claridy: OLB; 6' 0"; Senior

#8 Khyree Copeland: RB; 5' 8"; Senior

#10 Mike Egebrecht: WR; 5' 9"; Senior

#36 Cory Howard: OLB; 5' 11"; Senior

#3 Mike Marotta: QB; 6' 0"; Senior

#34 Justin Peacock: RB; 5' 8"; Senior

#20 Matt Rolf: DB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#33 Andrew Shine: K; 5' 9"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#83 Nate Bahr
: 5' 10"; Senior
: WR

#44 Marty Beckman
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: DE

#67 Matt Boswell
: 5' 11"; Senior
: DE

#9 Clinton Boyd
: 5' 9"; Senior
: WR

#14 Dominique Claridy
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OLB

#8 Khyree Copeland
: 5' 8"; Senior
: RB

#10 Mike Egebrecht
: 5' 9"; Senior
: WR

#36 Cory Howard
: 5' 11"; Senior
: OLB

#3 Mike Marotta
: 6' 0"; Senior
: QB

#34 Justin Peacock
: 5' 8"; Senior
: RB

#20 Matt Rolf
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: DB

#33 Andrew Shine
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: K