Nov. 17, 2012 - The Concordia University Chicago football Cougars' first-ever playoff appearance, while heartbreaking at the finish, was a thrilling finish to a 10-1 season and hopefully a foundation for future successes.

In first-round NCAA Division III action at Concordia Stadium in River Forest, Bethel University built a 24-10 lead after three quarters. But the Royals (9-2) found themselves hanging on for dear life in the final 15 minutes as the Cougars found the end zone twice. The second touchdown came with 18 seconds left and looked to set the stage for overtime. Instead, Concordia elected to go for the winning two-point conversion, but the pass was tipped away as Bethel escaped with the 24-23 victory.

Two first quarter interceptions against Concordia quarterback Jake Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran) helped the visitors from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference take the early upper hand. Nathaniel Van Loon's 40-yard field goal put the first points on the board with 5:56 remaining in the quarter. Early in the second quarter, they added to their lead as Erik Peterson hit Mitch Hallstrom from 22 yards out for a 10-0 Royals' lead.

The Cougars got on the board on the ensuing drive, helped by a Koehler 30-yard completion to Mike Bailey (Spring Hill, FL/Central). Concordia reached the Bethel 14, but a sack forced the Cougars to go for the field goal. Danny Colapietro (Norridge, IL/Maine South) salvaged the drive with his 37-yard boot to trim the deficit to 10-3.

Bethel extended the lead back to 14 on the ensuing possession. On a second-and-nine from the 23, Peterson threw back to Hallstrom on the right side. Hallstrom pulled up and threw to Jay Hilbrands who had a step on his defender. Hilbrands hauled in the pass for the touchdown and a 17-3 lead.

Concordia reached the end zone just before the half as Koehler hit Trent Yancy (Chicago, IL/Simeon) for 28 yards and Jamal Thomas (Weirsdale, FL/Lake Weir) for 18. On a first-and-goal from the three, Andrew Maddox (Gainesville, FL/P.K. Yonge) slipped through a hole in the line and scored standing up to make the halftime tally Bethel 17, Concordia 10.

The third quarter belonged to Bethel. They scored the only seven points on Peterson's one-yard sneak to cap a 52-yard drive that ate up 11 plays and six minutes. The Royals' defense then made a key stop as they turned away the Cougars at the 18-yard line to hold a 24-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Concordia began the fourth quarter at their own 33, but consecutive completions to Thomas for 17 yards, Yancy for 18 and Sherman Jones (Pensacola, FL/J.M. Tate) for 14 moved the ball into the red zone. Moments later, another completion to Jones put the ball at the three. From there, Koehler called his own number and scored his eighth rushing touchdown of the year to put the home team back within seven.

Bethel threatened to put the game away on their ensuing drive as Hallstrom made a tremendous one-handed catch for a first-and-goal at the five. After a run took the ball to the one, Peterson attempted to sneak the ball in for the score. However, he lost control before going over the goal line. Nobody could recover the loose ball as it rolled out the back of the end zone, giving the ball to the Cougars on a touchback.

The Cougars could not take advantage of the opportunity as they went three-and-out. However, they forced the Royals to punt and began their next drive at their own 20 with 2:46 left. Koehler went to work again with a 22-yard strike to Yancy and a 30-yard throw to Thomas. The Cougars eventually reached the one from where Maddox got the call. The junior back (19 carries, 60 yards) hit the left side and crossed the goal line with 18 seconds left to bring the Cougars within an extra point kick of sending the game into overtime.

Head coach Lonnie Pries called timeout, and fans of both teams became aware that the Cougars were about to go for the two-point conversion to win the game. They elected for a pass to the left side, and Koehler threw what looked to be an accurate strike to Yancy. But J.D. Mehlhorn stuck his hand out and batted down the pass to protect the Royals' lead. The Cougars had one slim remaining hope, but the onside kick was recovered sure-handedly by Phil Peterson. One snap later, the clock ran out on the Concordia Cougars' history-making season.

The Cougars finished with 490 yards of offense to the Royals' 351. Koehler passed for 390 yards on 26 of 38 in his final college game. Jones caught nine of his passes for 126 yards while Thomas had eight catches for 125 yards. Bethel's Peterson passed for 161 yards on 16 of 23 with Hallstrom gaining 100 yards on eight receptions. Marshall Klitzke rushed for 134 yards on 18 carries.

Defensive leaders were Bethel's Seth Mathis with 15 tackles (8-7) and one interception, and Brett Skoog with 10 tackles (4-6). For Concordia, Matt Rolf (Rochester, MI/Lutheran Northwest) and Chris Thompson (St. Louis, MO/Lutheran North) each racked up 10 tackles (six solo).