Nov. 5, 2016 - Football fans gathered this afternoon at the Sports Complex in Lisle on a beautiful and unseasonably warm early-November day. Unfortunately for fans of the Concordia University Chicago Cougars, the sunshiny mood did not last as the afternoon progressed. The Cougars fell behind early and then faced an extremely uphill battle in the face of turnovers, and the result was a 47-3 loss to the host Benedictine University Eagles.

Benedictine took the opening kickoff and marched quickly down the field on three completions for first downs. However, on the Eagles' first rushing play, the ball popped loose and was recovered by Joshua Nash. The Cougars took over on their own 34 and picked up their initial first down on a 14-yard pass from Rob Granquist to Corey Dooley. Four plays later, CUC would be forced to punt, but Emilio Araiza's punt was downed at the eight-yard line. The opportunity was there for the defense, but the Eagles proceeded to march 92 yards for the opening score. Running back Derek Miles covered the final eight yards on the ground as Benedictine took a 7-0 lead with 5:43 remaining in the first quarter.

In the final minute of the quarter, the Cougars took possession at their 15 and put together their lone scoring drive of the day. CUC moved the chains behind converting four consecutive third-down plays. The first two went to Dooley (including a spectacular one-handed catch while being hit by a tackler), and subsequent catches were made by Rashad Lofton and Leroy Bridges. Eventually, the Cougars faced a third-and-nine at the Eagles' 12. Granquist was forced to vacate the pocket and scramble right. With no receivers open, the left-handed quarterback pulled the ball down and picked up five yards down to the seven. The Cougars opted for the 24-yard field goal which Orlando Hayes drilled through the uprights of the south end zone, and CUC trailed just 7-3 midway through the second quarter.

The Cougars had momentum, but the Eagles stole it back over the final seven minutes of the half. JaVon McBride broke a long kickoff return for an apparent touchdown that was called back because of an illegal block in CUC territory. That only delayed the home team's score as they took advantage of the short field and scored on a McBride three-yard run for a 14-3 lead. Concordia-Chciago then went three-and-out, and a short punt let the Eagles set up shop at the CUC 39. Benedictine added to the lead four plays later as quarterback Ryan Sample threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to give BU a 20-3 lead (extra point missed). The home team then added a final score before the half as Granquist was intercepted, the ball being returned to the eight-yard line.McBride's second scoring run made the halftime score Eagles 26, Cougars 3.

The game got out of hand in the third quarter as Benedictine scored two touchdowns for a 40-3 lead before adding on a final score in the fourth. Meanwhile, the visitors made no inroads on the Eagles' lead due to four turnovers. Cougar quarterbacks were intercepted twice (the second being returned for one of the Eagles' touchdowns), and funbles on a rushing play and a punt return accounted for the other two turnovers.

Concordia's offense was held without a touchdown for the first time all season, recording just 260 yards of offense. Lance Moise was limited to 18 net yards rushing on 13 carries. Freshman Corey Sheehan led CUC in rushing with 39 yards on eight carries. Quarterbacks Granquist and Araiza combined for 32-46 passing for 196 yards with Dooley and Lofton both making eight catches (dooley for 77 yards, Lofton for 50).

Defensively, A.J. Seidler led in tackles with six solo and five assisted. Thaddous Daniel was also in on double-digit tackles with three solo and seven assisted. Daniel and Kareem Dabney joined Nash in re3covering Eagle fumbles.

The Cougars (4-5, 2-3 NACC) will look to finish the season at the .500 mark when they host Wisconsin Lutheran College next Saturday at noon.