RIVER FOREST, ILL. – Kicking off the 2025 season on their home turf, the Concordia University Chicago football team secured the opening victory, downing the University of Minnesota Morris in a nail-biting fashion with a final score of 17-16.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.) led the squad on the offensive end with 13 completed passes for a total of 157 yards with one interception.
- Joron Brown (St. Joseph, Mich.) led on the ground with a career-high 152 rushing yards with one touchdown. He also had the longest rush of the day with a 48 yard dash.
- Kevon Lawson (Pompano Beach, Fla.) led in the air with seven total receptions for a total of 73 yards, including a career-high 29-yard reception.
- Jayden Taylor (Southfield, Mich.) also picked up a career-high 32-yard reception on his lone catch of the day.
- On the defensive side, freshman Zack Puracchio (Channahon, Ill.) led the way with two forced fumbles, eight total tackles, five of which were solo.
- Kadin Stroer (Warrenton, Mo.) picked up a career-high nine total tackles, seven of which were solo.
- Jordan Lacey (Belleville, Ill.) picked up the lone sack on the day forcing a loss of six yards.
- Vincent Pagenkopf (Waukesha, Wis.) put 188 yards on kickoffs on the day.
- Diego Mãrquez (Berwyn, Ill.) put up two successful PATs on top of one 33-yard field goal.
How It Happened
First Quarter
CUC received the ball first and William Henson
(Potosi, Mo.) got things rolling right away with a 21-yard return to kick things off from the 35-yard line. Despite taking some momentum with a solid reception, they would be unable to convert and be forced to punt. The defense answered quickly, stuffing the Minnesota Morris Cougars and forcing a punt of their own. With the CUC offense struggling to get going, Bosch would suffer a sack on second down and lead to yet another punt. The Cougar defense would bend, but not break, forcing a missed 25-yard field goal from the Cougars of Minnesota Morris to keep the game scoreless midway through the first quarter.
Momentum swung in Concordia's favor minutes later when
Jonathan Aungst (Lovells, Mihc.) recovered a muffed punt at the Morris 46-yard line. Bosch immediately connected with Taylor for a deep strike to push into the red zone. A strong run from Brown would put CUC inside the 20, but the drive fizzled and ended on downs at the 17-yard line.
With time winding down, CUC pieced together another promising march. Bosch found
Korey Randle (East Moline, Ill.) twice, including a 12-yard completion to reach midfield. Still, the quarter closed without points, leaving CUC looking for a breakthrough after a first frame defined by missed chances.
Second Quarter
The second quarter opened on a sour note when Bosch was pressured and intercepted deep in CUC territory, setting up Minnesota Morris at the 13-yard line. But the Cougar defense held firm, with Demari Dumas
(Chicago, Ill.) breaking up a fourth down pass in the end zone to turn away the threat and keep the game at a stalemate.
Pinned back at their own six, the offense couldn't escape the shadow of the goal line and was forced to punt. A quick three play drive for the Cougars would force another punt where
Dennis Vanderplow (Livonia, Mich.) would send the ball 50 yards and start Minnesota Morris on their own 44-yard line. The opposing Cougars would capitalize on this drive and take the early 7-0 lead. Despite falling behind, CUC responded with its best offensive drive of the half. Brown, Lawson, and Henson combined to power the squad down the field. Brown would go on to pick up a 22-yard burst while Bosch would find him once again for a key third-down conversion. The drive stalled inside the red zone, but Mãrquez delivered a field goal to put the Cougars on the board at 7-3 with under three minutes to play.
The defense gave CUC another chance late in the half when Puracchio forced a fumble that
Phoenyx Clark (South Bend, Ind.) recovered. Pressure on Bosch would once again disrupt the possession while two sacks and a negative run pushed CUC out of scoring range and forcing another punt. The Cougars would head into the half trailing 7-3.
Third Quarter
UMM opened the half with the ball, but the CUC defense quickly set the tone.
Adam Lambaz (Elgin, Ill.) jarred the ball free on a run play while
Louis Mobley (Indianapolis, Ind.) pounced on the fumble near midfield, giving the Cougars prime field position. Though the offense couldn't convert on the short field, the turnover was an early spark for CUC. The defense once again stood tall and forced another turnover on downs inside the redzone after back-to-back stops from
Hagan Wascher (Frankenmuth, Mich.) and
Devean Shearer (Saint Charles, Ill.). Pinned deep at their own six, the Cougar offense responded in emphatic fashion. Brown ignited the drive with a 14-yard run before bursting free for a 48-yard gain to put the Cougars in striking distance. Bosch then found Lawson on a key third-down conversion, setting up a five-yard touchdown to
Jaxon Martinus (Birch Run, Mich.) with under two minutes left in the quarter, giving CUC the 10-7 lead.
Fourth Quarter
UMM struck first in the final frame, capping an intentional drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to take the 13-10 lead over CUC. The Cougars of CUC answered with a determined march of their own, leaning on Brown and Henson to chew up yardage on the ground. Brown ripped off a 14-yard burst and later added a 13-yard dash to push the offense deep into UMM territory, but after reaching the 20, the drive stalled on down and handed things over.
The defense had little time to breathe before facing a backbreaking play in a 72-yard completion that set up UMM at the CUC five-yard line. Despite this threatening stance, the CUC defense refused to fold, holding UMM to a short field goal, leaving CUC trailing 16-10 with 1:32 on the clock.
What followed was a signature late-game drive. Bosch delivered under pressure, first hitting Lawson for a 29-yard strike then finding Martinus for 27 yards that would put CUC at the six-yard line. With under one minute to play, and CUC still trailing by six, Brown finished what he started and blasted into the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown. Mãrquez's extra point settled CUC with the 17-16 lead.
UMM had one last chance with 50 seconds to play, but the CUC secondary locked down and forced four straight incompletions to seal the victory. CUC took the ball back and Bosch knelt out the final seconds, completing a comeback defined by grit, resilience, and clutch execution.
With the win, the Cougars start off the season 1-0 for the first time since the 2021 season and defend their home turf. In year two under head coach
Chase Hankins, he picked up the home opener victory. CUC will be back in action next week on September 13
th as they travel to North Manchester, Ind. to take on Manchester University at 1:00pm EDT. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
