RIVER FOREST, ILL. – In support of Student Athlete Mental Health Week, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars and the Aurora University Spartans battled on the field, resulting in a Cougar loss.

BEFORE THE GAME
The Cougars and Spartans teamed up with Hilinski's Hope to show their support for Student Athlete Mental Health Week. The two teams represented the organization with decals on their helmets and a joint mental health PSA about the importance of student athlete mental health.

Spartans and Cougars team up for Hilinski's Hope https://t.co/vuEBRpIV4m

— CUC Athletics (@CUChicagoSports) October 3, 2023

INSIDE THE BOX

• Jakob Redmond (Bishop, Calif.) threw for 48-yards on four completions.
• Troy Pratley (St. Joseph, Mich.) and Joron Brown (St. Joseph, Mich.) picked up big numbers on the ground for the Cougars as both faced a net of 17-yards.

FIRST HALF
The Cougars won the coin toss and deferred giving Aurora the first opportunity to score. The Spartans picked up the ball on the CUC 44-yard line, but wouldn't make it very far before a fumble would be scooped up by Travon Thomas (Wauchula, Fla.) to give the Cougars their first offensive drive of the game. Two quick rushes from Brown would result in a third and six opportunity, but the Cougars would be forced to burn a timeout as the play clock wound down.
 
The Spartans would regain the ball after a punt from Ryan Auer (Newark, Ohio) and find the endzone on their first drive. For the remainder of the first quarter, the Spartans would score on every possession while the Cougars remained blank. The Cougars, unable to find offensive success, saw a glimmer of hope after an initial punt turned into a second chance after Pratley rushed for 17 yards to give the Cougars a fresh set of downs.

Pratley using his IQ of the game to inch his way into a Cougar first down! pic.twitter.com/EkdmcH0nDX

— CUC Football (@CUCFBFamily) October 7, 2023

Unable to convert on the fresh downs, the Cougars fell into halftime trailing the Spartans 63-0.

SECOND HALF
The start of the second half saw a fresh arm as freshman quarterback Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.) took to the field. Bosch went to work throwing for a total of 35-yards in the second half off of six completions, but ultimately couldn't convert any into points.

The Cougars would remain scoreless for the remainder of the game and fall 91-0 to the nationally ranked Spartans. The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday as they travel north to take on the Lakeland University Muskies. Kickoff is set for 1:00pm.