RIVER FOREST, Ill. --- The 2023 football season has officially begun for the Concordia University Chicago Cougars after starting the day off on home turf to take on Greenville University. Despite a second half spark from the Cougars, they ultimately lost the big cat battle to the Panthers 41-14.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Troy Pratley (St. Joseph, Mich.) facilitated things for the Cougars throwing 9-16 for 160 yards including a career-high 85-yard pass.
- Jakob Redmond (Bishop, Calif.) also worked at facilitating things as he picked up 15 passing yards on three completed passes while securing himself 34 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
- Henry Jones IV (Atlanta, Ga.) picked up his first touchdown in the maroon and gold while adding 42 receiving yards on four receptions.
- Jayce Levy (Davenport, IA) led the offense with 100 all-purpose yards including a career-high 85-yard reception.
- Marvin Rushing (Detroit, Mich.) led the defense with nine total tackles including seven solo tackles.
With Concordia University Chicago winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, the Cougars kicked things off on a bright and sunny day in River Forest. The Panthers wasted no time in jump starting their season opener as they took the opening kickoff for a 95-yard run back to strike first in the opening 16 seconds of the game. Unable to make things work on their opening drive, the Cougars were forced to punt and hand things back to the Panthers.
CUC started to find their bearings early on after an interception from sophomore
Demari Grant (Chicago, Ill.) would turn things back over the Cougars on the third down. A massive offensive spurt for the Cougars came off an 85-yard long ball from Pratley to Levy, but were ultimately not able to convert on their offensive possession – closing the quarter with the score at a 7-0 advantage for the Panthers.
The Cougars relied heavily on junior kicker
Ryan Auer (Newark, Ohio) as he closed all five Cougar possessions in the second quarter while the Panthers extended their lead to 20-0 before the half.
As the Cougars continued to struggle on offense, back-to-back turnovers translated into two touchdowns for the Panthers bringing their lead up to 34-0. An athletic interception from freshman
Kameron Mabins (Lombard, Ill.) would give the Cougars one last offensive chance for the third quarter, but remained scoreless after 45 minutes.
Heading into the final 15 minutes of the game, the Cougars kicked things into high-gear and marched their way down the field. Rushes from
Sincere Best (Round Rock, Texas) and
Jordan Garcia (West Chicago, Ill.) put the Cougars at the 29-yard line and opened up the opportunity for a deep pass from Pratley to Jones for the first CUC points of the day.
With momentum finally on their side, Concordia-Chicago then forced a fumble off the tackle from Grant while freshman
Gavin Dace (Sullivan, Mo.) recovered the ball and opened the door back up for the Cougar offense.
With a new arm in the quarterback position for the Cougars, their longest offensive drive of the game began. Rushes from Best, Redmond, Jones, and Garcia would force a Panther timeout as the Cougars made their way to the 19-yard line. Inching their way closer to the endzone, a four-yard rush from Redmond would secure the second and final touchdown of the day for the Cougars.
With both teams still working as the clock wound down, the Panthers would hold their lead over the Cougars and steal the first game victory with a final score of 41-14.
The Cougars will hit the road for their last non-conference game of the year against Oberlin College next Saturday, September 9
th with kickoff set for 12:00 pm EST. You can find links to coverage at cucougars.com/coverage and keep up with the team on Twitter and Instagram @CUCFBFamily.
