Concordia received the opening kickoff and Jake Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran) scrambled for 10 yards on a fourth-and-one to pick up the game's initial first down, but the drive stalled at the Maroons' 37. The Maroons' first possession also came up short as the pass rush put on some tremendous pressure and forced a third-down incompletion by Chicago's Kevin Shelton.
On the Cougars' second drive, Koehler got the offense deep out of its own zone hooking up with
Jamal Thomas (Weirsdale, FL/Lake Weir) on a timing route. The play covered 63 yards and provided the impetus for the first points.
Andrew Maddox (Gainesville, FL/P.K. Yonge) covered the final seven yards up the middle, and
Danny Colapietro's (Norridge, IL/Maine South) extra point made it 7-0 just 6:20 into the game.
Following the score, however, the Maroons began to build momentum and move the majority of play to the Cougars' end of the field. Jeff Sauer's 42-yard field goal put the home team on the board early in the second quarter, although a couple of pass break-ups by senior Sam Key (Chicago, IL/Luther South) kept the Maroons out of the end zone.
Chicago took the lead with six minutes remaining in the half on a 21-yard run by Ian Gaines. The Maroons' drive covered just 32 yards as the Cougars had pinned the Cougars deep in their end.
Trent Yancy (Chicago, IL/Simeon) gave Concordia some life as he returned the kickoff 41 yards to midfield. A pass interference call put the Cougars deep in the Maroons' end, and Koehler then found Thomas across the middle for a 19-yard scoring strike and a 14-10 lead.
The Maroons responded just before the half as they drove 48 yards. Once again, the pass defense saved the day as
Matt Rolf (Rochester, MI/Lutheran Northwest) and
C.J. Pasley (St. Louis, MO/Lutheran North) combined to break up a pass intended for Dee Brizzolara in the end zone. However, Sauer put three points on the board with his second field goal, this one from 36 yards out. The half ended with Concordia holding a slim 14-13 lead.
The stats after 30 minutes showed Concordia with 234 yards and Chicago with 200 yards. The Cougars had a 153-103 advantage in passing yards, but Gaines' 90 yards rushing on 11 carries narrowed the total yardage gap.
Chicago received the second-half kickoff and marched down the field for the go-ahead score. Once again, it was Sauer providing the leg as his third field goal was good from 35 yards out.
Sauer added to the lead early in the fourth quarter after the Cougars were unsuccessful in their two third-quarter possessions. His kick from 31 yards out made the score 19-14. However, the Cougar pass defense prevented a bigger score once again as Rolf broke up a third-down throw in the end zone prior to the field goal.
With 11 minutes remaining, Concordia's offense was searching for some spark. They found it on the ensuing possession by going to the ground game. Maddox broke off two runs for 22 yards, and Koehler scrambled for 21 more. Koehler hit Thomas for 13 yards down to the 10-yard line. Two plays later, Maddox burst up the middle for the six points and the go-ahead score. The Cougars failed on a two-point conversion attempt, leaving the score at Concordia 20, Chicago 19.
The Maroons needed just two minutes and three plays to retaliate. Their touchdown came as Brizzolara got behind the secondary and hauled in a 39-yard pass from Shelton. The hosts had their final lead at 26-20 with 7:18 left.
Concordia took possession at the 29 following the kickoff. The first two plays netted just four yards, but Koehler hit Thomas on third down for 36 yards to move the offense into Chicago territory. Two runs by Maddox took the ball down to the 10-yard line, giving the Cougars a first-and-goal. A blocking penalty moved the ball back to the 18 on second down, but the combination of Koehler and Thomas came through one more time. Koehler scrambled to the left and hit Thomas by the left pylon for the six. Colapietro added the extra point for a 27-26 lead with 3:50 still to play.
Chicago threatened to take back the lead as a big kickoff return set them up at the Cougars' 43. The Cougars' defense clogged the middle against two rushing attempts, creating a third-and-six. On third down, Shelton looked for Brizzolara behind the defense, but Pasley got excellent position in front of Brizzolara and intercepted Shelton's pass at the 13. With Chicago down to just one timeout, the Cougars picked up a first down on runs by Maddox and Koehler. It then remained only for Koehler to take a knee twice as the clock expired.
Concordia won the total yardage battle 416 to 404 despite Chicago having 10 more minutes of possession. Koehler completed 19 of 35 passes for 250 yards. Thomas was his favorite target with nine catches for 171 yards including the two touchdowns.Chicago's Shelton was 12 of 32 for 201 yards with Brizzolara catching four balls for 134 yards.
Maddox's strong fourth-quarter running gave him 82 yards on 15 carries along with his two touchdowns. Gaines rushed for 163 yards on 26 carries.
On defense
, Robert Hammack (DeKalb, IL/H.S.) notched a career-high 13 tackles (5-8). Key, Rolf,
Chris Thompson (St. Louis, MO/Lutheran North) and
Marcus Frazier (Chicago, IL/Evergreen Park) all chipped in with nine each. Alex Dzierbicki led the Maroons with 13 tackles (3-10).
The Cougars will host Hope College next Saturday at 1 p.m.
