ROCKFORD, ILL. — With their final game of the 2023 season, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) football team traveled to Rockford University to face the Regents in a huge showdown. After a grueling battle back and forth, the Cougars fell just short of a win with a final score of 61-41.
Inside the Box Score:
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Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.) took the reigns this game, as he went 21-for-41 with a total of 347 passing yards and four touchdowns.
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On the rushing end, Jayce Levy (Davenport, IA) had 75 yards with one touchdown to lead the Cougars.
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The top receiver on the day was Gabe Dace (Sullivan, Mo.) who brought in five receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Also reigning in touchdowns were Joron Brown (St. Joseph, Mich.) and Henry Jones IV (Atlanta, Ga.), who had 68 and 62 yards, respectively
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Defensively, Ryan Ayers (Memphis, Mich.) led the way with eight tackles, four solo and four assisted. Followed by Austin Jackson (Addis, La.) with seven tackles
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Ryan Auer (Newark, Ohio) went 5-for-6 on PATs for the afternoon
First Half
Starting the game off, the Regents would be the first to strike in the first quarter 7-0. The Cougars would then take the ball over and start to make their way down field. This was until a huge 34-yard rush by Levy was able to score the first CUC touchdown of the game 7-7.
Rockford would begin to work back at the score and were able to take advantage of some CUC miscues. With this, they took the score back over at 14-7. After an interception, the Regents would get the ball right back and quickly score to pull ahead at 21-7. The Cougars would make their way all the way to Rockford's four yard line before the second quarter started. This is where Bosch took care of business and scored a touchdown on his own 21-14.
With the Cougars just one score away from tying, Rockford took advantage of both the running and passing games to pull ahead to 28-14. The Cougars would be unable to convert on their next possession and had to hand the ball back to the Regents. Where this opponent took advantage of this moment and took their lead to 34-14.
This sort of score did not deter the Cougars, where on the next play they were able to do quick work. Levy would make a huge 17-yard rush to begin the momentum shift for CUC. Then, Jones would get a 36-yard reception and run it all the way to the house for another touchdown 34-21.
This back and forth scoring did not stop, as Rockford was able to convert on their next drive and take the score to 41-21. The next five possessions would result in no scoring for either side and drove this score right into the half.
Second Half
Coming out of halftime, the Cougars made swift work of the Regents defense. A huge 70-yard pass from Bosch to Dace would result in yet another Cougar touchdown 41-27. With the Regents on the ball, Brandon Arredondo (Dalton, Ga.) would pick up an interception, and then a fumble was recovered by Travon Thomas (Wauchula, Fla.) to give CUC an opportunity. Unfortunately, they would not be able to capitalize here and gave the ball back to Rockford.
Before the start of the fourth quarter, the Regents connected on another pass to make it 48-27. Just short of a Cougar touchdown, the Regents continued their momentum to 54-27. On the next ball, Levy and Brown were able to find a way down field and bring another touchdown in for CUC at 54-34.
On the other side, Rockford immediately made use of the offensive power and made it 61-34. On the next drive, E'mareion Glover (Saint Petersburg, Fla.) would have a 32-yard pass to start driving momentum down field. Bosch was then able to make a quick pass to Dace and cut the lead to 61-41.
However, it would be just too late, as CUC fell to Rockford 61-41.
This concludes the 2023 CUC football season with a 1-9 overall record and 1-7 in conference play. To stay up to date on all things CUC Football, follow them on Instagram and X @ cucfbfamily. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
