Box Score Nov. 8, 2014 - The Concordia-Chicago Cougar football team found themselves with a break from the conference schedule this afternoon. The hole was filled with a contest against Olivet College, a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Cougars had defeated the Comets the last time the teams had hooked up in n a 2009, but this game belonged to host Olivet as they defeated CUC 33-7 on a cold and windy afternoon.
The Cougars dialed up the same determination to start the game that they utilized in last week's comeback win at Aurora. Olivet took the opening kickoff and quickly positioned themselves for a first-and-goal at the eight. But four straight running plays did not get the Comets into the end zone. Sang Lee (Oro Valley, AZ/Canyon Del Oro) and Mike Bailey (Spring Hill, FL/Central) teamed up to make the fourth-down stop at the three, and the Cougars took over for their initial possession. Jakari Cammon (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest) picked up where he left off from last week with ground gains of 20 and 19 yards on the drive. Acusio Bivona (Los Angeles, CA/Hamilton) also had a key 10-yard completion to Elijah Walker (Hobart, IN/H.S.) to move the chains. The drive came down to a third-and-five at the Comets' 31, but the hosts' pass rush brought down Bivona and forced a punt situation. Olivet took the ball at the 14 and marched 86 yards for the game's first score. Comets' quarterback Braden Black went 5-6 on the drive including the nine-yard pass to get the home team in the end zone. The extra point made the score 7-0 Olivet midway through the first quarter.
The Cougars' offense was stymied over the next couple of possessions, but the defense held firm as Travone Petty's (Calhoun City, MS/H.S.) interception ended one Comets' drive and a missed field goal stopped a second. However, Olivet extended its lead to 14-0 just before the half as the combination of Black and Kyle Bryson hooked up for the second time, this one from 18 yards out. Concordia's hopes for another comeback fell short in the third quarter as Olivet scored 13 unanswered points. Black moved the Comets 80 yards downfield, completing all seven of his passes on the drive. The seventh completion went to Mitchell Bailey for 24 yards down to the one-yard line from where Chris Jones ran the final yard for a 21-0 lead.The Comets' defense later got in on the act as a sack produced a fumble which was returned 12 yards by Curtis French for the score. The extra point missed, leaving the score Olivet 27, CUC 0 after three quarters.
Black's three-yard run gave the hosts their final score early in the fourth before the Cougars managed to break the Comets' shutout bid at the 7:08 mark. It was the defense that produced the points as Ramon Guerrero (Hobart, IN/Andrean) jarred the ball loose from the Comets' running back. Bailey scooped up the loose ball and ran it in from 12 yards out for the six points. Zach Slusher (Park City, UT/H.S.) added the extra point for the final scoring of the day. Bailey finished with nine total tackles (six solo) to lead the Cougars. A.J. Seidler (West Chicago, IL/H.S.) added nine tackles (five solo) and Guerrero recorded a career-high eight (five solo). Cammon finished with 75 yards rushing but the Cougars were held to a net 42 yards on the grounds. The passing game netted 64 yards as CUC quarterbacks Bivona and Thomas Nierhoff (Tejon Ranch, CA/Frazier Mountain) combined for 13-22. The Comets amassed 473 total yards on 199 yards rushing (Jones 18-133) and 274 rushing (Black 19-26). The Cougars (1-7) will return home to host Rockford University next Saturday at 12:00 in the season finale.
