MEQUON, WIS. – In the Battle of the Concordias, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars traveled north to take on the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons. Despite some promising offensive bursts from the Cougars, they would be unable to overcome the fiery Falcons, falling 52-24.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.) was the lead passer for the Cougars picking up 343 yards off 29 completions.
- Joron Brown (St. Joseph, Mich.) led on the ground for the Cougars with 50 net yards off 11 rushes.
- Devin Bledsoe (St. Charles, Mo.) led the receivers for the Cougar with 75 total yards on five receptions.
- On the defensive end, Joshua Smith (Chicago, Ill.) led for CUC with six total tackles, all solo, with one breakup.
- Travon Thomas (Wauchula, Fla.) had the lone sack of the day for the Cougars with one additional quarterback hurry with four total tackles.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
Concordia Wisconsin won the coin toss and elected to receive in the opening kickoff, giving them the chance to strike first. Seven snaps converted to a touchdown and gave the Falcons the early lead of the day. Levy would grab the kick and return it for 35 yards and set the offense up at their own 49-yard line. With good field position to start, the Cougars got to work quickly. Brown ran for nine yards while a quick pass from Bosch to Levy would gain eight more yards and officially put them into Falcon territory. With a couple unsuccessful passes the Cougars would be faced with a fourth and nine and bring out the special teams squad. A 26-yard field goal from
Ryan Auer (Newark, Ohio) would put the Cougars on the board and leave them trailing by four with under eight minutes to play in the quarter.
Despite a couple strong holds from the Cougar defensive line, the Falcons would still be able to march their way down the field and extend their lead by another seven. A 16-yard kickoff return from
Henry Jones IV (Atlanta, Ga.) would start the next drive at their own 39. Needing to get things moving before the quarter expired, Bosch would the hands of
Randle Bills (Florrisant, Mo.) for a 23 yard gain to inch closer to Falcon territory. After a deep pass to Bledsoe was unsuccessful, a follow-up connecting 21-yard pass would give them a fresh set of downs at the CUW 11-yard line.
With Bosch taking a late hit and drawing a penalty, the Cougars would have another fresh set at the five yard line. Despite this momentum shifting moment, the Cougars would be unable to convert after three failed pass attempts and a false start. Going for another 26-yard field goal attempt, this one would be blocked by the Falcons and hand the ball over.
SECOND QUARTER
With the Falcons holding the 14-3 lead heading into the second quarter, they would resume play at their own 36-yard line. Despite some lockdown defense from the Cougars not letting them make their way too much further, the Falcons would call their special teams squad out and extend their lead to 17-3. With 9:49 on the clock at their own 25-yard line, the Cougars struggled to get offense going. Bosch threw an interception on the second snap of the drive and handed things right back over to the Falcons. With fire lit underneath them, the Cougar defense came out looking to regain possession with no damage done. An incomplete pass and a penalty to heighten it would force the Falcons to punt and give the Cougars the ball back.
Two consecutive passes from Bosch to Bills and
Manuel Mendoza (Ceres, Calif.) would give the Cougars a first and ten opportunity before a false start would push them back five yards. Despite this set back, the Cougars would bounce back after a series of short completions and a penalty against the Falcons. A short right dump to Jones paired with two keepers from Bosch would further infiltrate the CUW end of the field. Sitting at the Falcon 29-yard line, the Cougars would find their first touchdown of the day off a pass deep to
Wesley Jackson (Robinson, Ill.).
Despite the Cougars bringing the score within one, the Falcons would put their foot on the gas and extend out to a 31-10 lead heading into the half.
THIRD QUARTER
With fresh optimism in the new half for the Cougars, a touchback would start their drive at their own 25-yard line. Fresh into the drive, a six-yard rush for Brown would jump start things, but a stall on the next would set up a third and four. Bosch looked to make up yardage in the air, but an interception would hand things over to the Falcons.
After starting their drive deep on their own side of the field, the Cougars would find success off an immediate pass deep right to Mendoza for a gain of 30 yards. Unable to get things moving again, the Cougars would be looking at a third and 15 before three consecutive completions for Mendoza, Levy, and Jones would move the chains. Struggling to get things moving, the Cougars would find luck after an incomplete pass on fourth and one would result in a first down after a pass interference would save them.
Troy Pratley (St. Joseph, Mich.) would step in at quarterback and be forced to roll to his left, but still would find the hands of Jackson in the endzone to start the climb back for the Cougars and bring the score to 45-17.
FOURTH QUARTER
Heading into the final 15 minutes, the Falcons would be successful in finding the endzone yet again and picking up their final points of the game.
With the ball on the 14-yard line, a short pass to Jackson would move the ball closer to the endzone. With third and goal and the Cougars needing some points on the board a keeper up the middle from Bosch would bring the ball within two. Opting to go for it, the Cougars gambled and would be unsuccessful in finding the endzone, handing things back over to the Falcons at their own two-yard line.
After holding off the Falcons on their offensive burst, the Cougars would get the ball back on at their own 40-yard line. Marching down the field off a 17-yard pass to Mendoza and an eight yard pass to Bledsoe, the Cougars would come within ten yards of the endzone. A short dump down the middle from Bosch to Levy would give the Cougars their final points of the day and bring the score to 52-24. Despite one more drive for each team, neither would be able to score and close the game with the clock winding down and the Cougars trailing as the buzzer went off.
The Cougars will head home for the final game of the season as they play host to fellow NACC team Benedictine University as they celebrate and honor their dedicated seniors. Kickoff is slated for noon, while senior day recognition will happen shortly prior to kickoff. Coverage and updates for all things CUC Football can be found at cucougars.com.
