RIVER FOREST, ILL. – The Concordia University Chicago Cougars battled with the Eureka College Red Devils resulting in a 28-27 victory for the Cougars.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Jakob Redmond (Bishop, Calif.) was the sole arm responsible for the Cougars as he picked up 13 completions on 26 attempts for three touchdowns.
- Sincere Best (Round Rock, Texas) led the Cougars on the ground with 16 rushes for a gain of 75-yards with no loss.
- Jayce Levy (Davenport, Iowa) picked up five receptions for a total of 144 yards including one touchdown.
- Gabe Dace (Sullivan, Mo.) and Henry Jones (Atlanta, Ga.) each roped in a touchdown.
- Ryan Auer (Newark, Ohio) went a perfect four-for-four on PATs.
FIRST HALF
The Cougars kicked off first and gave the Red Devils the first opportunity to score. Strong defensive efforts from
Travon Thomas (Wauchula, Fla.) and
Brandon Arredondo (Dalton, Ga.) restricted the Red Devils and forced a punt. Unable to convert on their offensive possession, the Cougars handed things right back over and allowed the Red Devils to score first on the day.
The Cougars didn't wait long until they earned revenge. Starting their drive at their own 30-yard line, a seven-yard rush from Best followed by a nine-yard pass up the middle to Levy would give the Cougars the first down at the 47-yard line. A 34-yard pass from Redmond to Levy would put the Cougars into the Red Zone with a first down at the Eureka 14-yard line. A pass into the endzone from Redmond to Jones would even the score and give the Cougars their first points of the day.
A back-and-forth of empty possessions would leave the score level at seven as the first quarter came to an end. The Red Devils would strike again early in the second quarter after a 51-yard pass would put them into scoring position. With the Cougars unable to convert the same, the Red Devils capitalized on their momentum and took the 17-7 lead on their next drive.
With the Cougars struggling to get going offensively, they relied heavily on their defensive efforts, but would fall behind 24-7 at the end of the first half.
SECOND HALF
Fired up coming out of the half, the Cougars would start their drive on their 25-yard line after a touchback to start the half. Rushes from Best, Levy, and Redmond would march the line down the field and put things into place for Redmond to sneak into the endzone. Faking the handoff to Levy, Redmond found a gap and grabbed the eight-yard rush to pick up the second touchdown of the day.
Eureka once again answered with what would be their last score of the day as they jumped ahead 27-14 off a 15-yard field goal to close out the third quarter.
On the first snap of the fourth quarter, the Cougars went to work as they secured their third touchdown of the day. A 56-yard pass from Redmond to Levy into deep left would bring the Cougars within six.
With momentum on their side, the Cougars locked in and fought rejected the Red Devils. With Eureka attempting to rush on a 4
th and 1 at the CUC 38-yard line, strong defense from
Elias Pagan (St. Johns, Fla.) shut things down and handed the ball back over to the Cougars. With less than four minutes remaining in the game, the Cougars got the ball back at their own 37-yard line and worked their way down field. With less than a minute to play, Redmond connected with Dace in the endzone for a 28-yard touchdown giving Dace his first reception and touchdown of the day. A successful PAT from Auer would give the Cougars one point advantage with less than a minute to play.
Eureka knew what they needed to do and made consistent short passes to march down the field and continually stop the clock to put them in scoring position with mere seconds to go. As the clock wound down, a 30-yard field goal attempt would fall short and give the Cougars their first win of the season.
The Cougars will look to continue on this path as they play their final home game of the season next week, October 28
th as they host the St. Norbert Green Knights for a 1:00pm kickoff. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
