Box Score
Oct. 29, 2011 - For the second consecutive week, the Concordia Cougars overcame some self-inflicted mistakes to achieve a much-needed victory. This afternoon, Concordia erupted for a 31-point second quarter and went on to a 62-27 win over Maranatha Baptist Bible College.
The Cougars won the coin toss and chose to take the ball first. But, on the first play from scrimmage, the first of four lost fumbles on the day gave the Crusaders possession. Two plays later, Phil Littrell hit Joel Kobosh from 12 yards out. Maranatha led 7-0 as many of the fans were still finding their seats.
Just as quickly as Maranatha scored, Concordia responded. Savonte Hunt (Archer, FL/Buchholz) got behind the Crusaders' secondary and hauled in a 44-yard strike from Jake Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran) to tie the score 7-7 with just 2:05 elapsed.
Following the kickoff, the fumbles evened out briefly as Matt Rolf (Rochester, MI/Lutheran Northwest) recovered a Crusaders' miscue. It took just three plays for the Cougars to capitalize as Koehler ran in from four yards out to put Concordia up by seven.
The score remained 14-7 until the second quarter when the Cougars went on their scoring binge. Jason Mielzynski (Chicago, IL/St. Laurence) gave Concordia good field position with an interception, and the Cougars cashed in on Koehler's screen to Jamal Thomas (Weirsdale, FL/Lake Weir) which Thomas broke for a 23-yard touchdown.
Midway through the quarter, Maranatha recovered a fumble at Concordia's 18 and appeared in prime position to cut into Concordia's lead. However, Littrell's pass in the center of the field was intercepted by David Sodetz (Chicago, IL/Kennedy). Sodetz cut to the left, got a key block at the 30 and raced all the way to the end zone for a 98-yard touchdown return.
Malcolm Godwin's (Ocala, FL/Vanguard) fumble recovery less than a minute later set up Concordia's next score. From the 38, Koehler lofted the ball to the left side of the end zone. Thomas and a defender both got their hands on the ball but, after a brief tussle, Thomas wrestled the ball out of his opponent's hands to complete the touchdown catch for a 35-7 lead.
Danny Colapietro (Chicago, IL/Maine South) extended the lead with a 29-yard field goal with 2:36 remaining in the half. But the Cougars were given one more opportunity as Chris Thompson (St. Louis, MO/Lutheran North) stepped in front of a Littrell pass and returned it 28 yards to the Crusaders' 40. Koehler hit Hunt for 15 yards and then found Terrence Miller (Jacksonville, FL/Potter's House Academy) at the goal line for a 25-yard completion and a 45-7 halftime lead.
Maranatha scored on its initial possession of the second half as Ethan Lane found a hole up the middle on a fourth-and-two and raced in from 31 yards out. Concordia answered with a 10-play, 45-yard drive that culminated in a 36-yard field goal by freshman Charlie Henke (Wauwatosa, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran).
The Cougars stopped the Crusaders on downs at midfield on the following possession. On the next snap, Koehler hit Sherman Jones (Pensacola, FL/J.M. Tate) down the left sideline for 48 yards and a 55-14 advantage. For Koehler, it was his fifth touchdown pass of the day and enabled him to tie the single-game record held by Rob Shippy, Jason Weeks and Mike Marotta.
The remainder of the third quarter and all of the fourth was given over to the Cougar reserves. Freshman quarterback David Skowronski (LaGrange Park, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) put Concordia's final points of the day on the board with a 10-yard scramble early in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders would score twice to account for the final margin; Benjamin Janes scooped up a fumble and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown, and Littrell hit Kobosh from seven yards out for the final six points (extra point missed).
Koehler threw for a career-high 338 yards on 15 of 24 in leading Concordia to 546 total yards of offense. Jones was Koehler's favorite target, catching five passes for 128 yards. Hunt followed with four catches for 81 yards.
Defensively, Chris Decker (Ocala, FL/St. John Lutheran) recorded eight tackles, six solo. Freshman Enrique Garibay (Berwyn, IL/Morton West) added a career-high seven tackles, five solo. Marty Beckman (Parma, OH/Lutheran West) notched 2.5 quarterback sacks among his six tackles.
The Cougars (5-2, 4-1 NAC) will host Concordia Wisconsin next Saturday for Senior Day. Kickoff will be an hour earlier than usual at noon.
