DE PERE, WIS.- The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars matched up against St.Norbert College (SNC) Green Knights for Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play. Despite keeping the game competitive throughout the first half, the Cougars ultimately fell short, suffering a 27-7 defeat.
INSIDE THE BOX
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Colton Bosch (Coopersville, Mich.) paced the passing game with 196 yards and one touchdown, while also recording four interceptions.
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Joron Brown (St. Joseph, Mich.) led on the ground with 22 yards, 12 being his longest rush.
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Korey Randle (East Moline, Ill.) led the receiving room with five receptions for 78 yards.
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Kevon Lawson (Pompano Beach, Fla.) recorded the Cougars' lone touchdown on a two yard reception and added 28 receiving yards.
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Kadin Stroer (Warrenton, Mo.) led the Cougars defensively with 11 total tackles.
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Mikel Harris (St. Louis, Mo.) contributed defensively with a fumble recovery.
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
The Cougars won the coin toss and defer to the second half. The Green Knights started their drive in their own territory, moving down the field and completing two first downs before a Green Knight fumbled on second down, which was recovered by Harris for Cougar possession. The Cougars began their drive with a four yard rush from Brown but were unable to complete another pass or gain yardage, forcing Vanderplow to punt. Vanderplow placed the ball in good defensive ball position before the Green Knights immediately opened their drive with a 79 yard touchdown, putting the first points on the scoreboard and taking a 7-0 lead. The Cougars began their next drive at their own 23 yard line, completing a nine yard pass to Randle for a first down. Looking for another big completion, Bosch attempted a deep pass that was intercepted by a Green Knight. The Cougars defense responded and forced a penalty for intentional grounding on both plays, bringing up a third and 30. With Jordan Lacey (Belleville, Ill.) applying pressure on the blitz, the Green Knights managed one yard, forcing a punt. Logan Camps (Phoenix, Arizona) returned the punt six yards for the Cougars. The Cougars next drive began with a one yard loss before Bosch found Randle for a 36 yard gain and a Cougar first down. However, the Cougars were unable to complete another down, forcing another punt. Vandeplow punted 26 yards to the Green Knights, but the ball was fumbled and recovered by the Green Knights, allowing them to keep possession. The first quarter ended with the Green Knights in possession on a first down, leading the Cougars 7-0.
SECOND QUARTER
The Cougars were able to stop the Green Knights on their possession to open the second quarter. The Cougars began their drive with a two yard rush from Brown, followed by an 11 yard completion to Randle. Looking to complete another pass, Bosch threw down the middle but was intercepted by a Green Knight. Capitalizing on their interception, the Green Knights finished their drive with a touchdown, extending their lead to 14-0. With just under two minutes remaining in the half, Bosch connected with Taylor for a 19 yard reception and first down. After a series of incompletions brought the Cougars to fourth down, Bosch scrambled in the backfield and found Manuel Mendoza (Ceres, Calif.) for a big 26 yard completion and another Cougar first down. Wasting no time, Bosch completed another 19 yard pass to Randle, moving the Cougars into Green Knight territory with just 12 seconds remaining on the clock. Looking to find Lawson in the endzone, Bosch drew a pass interference penalty against the Green Knights, moving the Cougars into the redzone. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Bosch fired a touchdown pass to Lawson, putting the Cougars on the scoreboard and cutting the deficit to 14-7. The first ended with Hagan Wascher (Frankenmuth, Mich.) tackling a Green Knight on the punt return, as the Cougars headed into halftime trailing 14-7.
THIRD QUARTER
The Cougars opened the third quarter with possession but began their drive with a false start penalty, resulting in a five yard loss. Bosch located Randle for a 11 yard reception and first down, then completed a couple additional plays before his next pass was intercepted by a Green Knight. Starting their drive inside Cougar territory, the Green Knights were held to a stop on third down, forcing them to attempt a field goal. The Green Knights successfully converted the kick for three points, extending their lead to 17-7. Looking to regain momentum, the Cougars opened their next drive with a four yard rush from Brown. Bosch then attempted a pass that was intercepted by a Green Knight, who returned it for a pick six, increasing the Green Knights lead to 24-7. With possession once again, the Cougars began their drive with a 11 yard reception to Lawson, followed by a seven yard completion from Larnell Moore (Robbins, Ill.) to move the ball downfield. Continuing to look for a deep pass, Bosch targeted Randle but drew a pass interference penalty, giving the Cougars a new set of downs. After an incomplete pass, Bosch found Brown for an impressive one-handed catch, gaining 20 yards and advancing the ball to the SNC 18 yard line. Unable to convert a first down, the Cougars attempted to keep the drive alive on fourth down but wasn't able to get a complete down, turning possession over to the Green Knights. The third quarter ended with the Green Knights in possession, maintaining their 24-7 lead over the Cougars.
FOURTH QUARTER
In the fourth quarter both teams traded possessions on their opening drives. The Cougars defense continued to put pressure on the Green Knights, forcing them to punt on their second drive of the fourth quarter. The Cougars began their next drive with a three yard pass to Randle, but the drive ended when Phoenyx Clark (South Bend, Ind,) was sacked for a four yard loss and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the Green Knights. Harris, Devean Shearer (Saint Charles, Ill.), and Na'Kwon Johnson (Saint Louis, Mo.) teamed up to apply defensive pressure and force the Green Knights into a fourth down situation. Rather than attempting to convert, the Green Knights opted for a field goal and added three points to the scoreboard, extending their lead to 27-7 and recording the first points off the quarter. The remainder of the quarter saw both teams trade possessions as the game came to a close. The final score was 27-7 in favor of the Green Knights.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Cougars will go head to head with Wisconsin Lutheran College on Saturday, November 14th for their Senior Night. The Cougars will be at home and their last conference will be at 12 PM. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com.
