Football faces tough loss to Morningside
Photo description: Junior Jackson Anderson gets ready at the offensive line
Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh (photo from previous game)
Jonas Sommerville
Sower Staff
The Concordia Bulldog football team was defeated by Morningside 62-6 on Saturday afternoon. Early turnovers and big plays put Concordia in an impossible hole against the Morningside Mustangs, who are ranked third in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
The defense started strong, forcing an immediate punt from Morningside. However, the Bulldog offense coughed up the ball two plays later as the Mustangs took a fumble six yards to get on the board first. The offense fumbled again on the next drive, on the second play. The defense managed to hold Morningside to a field goal as the Mustangs went up 10-0 with 8:30 left in the first quarter.
Concordia stalled on the next drive after 16 yards and punted back to Morningside. The Mustangs scored to go up 17-0 on a 28-yard pass. The Bulldogs went three and out on the following drive, still having trouble finding a rhythm. Morningside scored again on a 34-yard pass to close out the first quarter with a 24-0 lead.
In the second quarter, they had many of the same struggles, as Concordia did not manage to get a single first down. The defense continued to have trouble stopping the pass as Morningside scored on a six-yard pass, going up 31-0 with 11:27 left in the second quarter. The Bulldog offense finally found a little rhythm and marched 52 yards down the field.
On fourth and two, Morningside held strong and dropped junior Mark Aarp for a two-yard loss and a turnover on downs. The Mustangs scored through the air again on a 23-yard completion to go up 38-0 with 6:24 left to play in the first half. Concordia moved the ball 36 yards on seven plays before sputtering and punting back to Morningside. The Mustangs could do no wrong on offense as they scored on a monster 55-yard run to go into half-time up 45-0.
The second half saw much of the same, as the Bulldog offense was shut down on the first possession of the third quarter after three plays. The defense bent but didn’t break, as Morningside kicked a 40-yard field goal, making the score 48-0.
Another quick stop by the Mustangs put an exhausted Concordia defense back on the field with hopes of getting their second stop of the day. Unfortunately, that stop did not come as Morningside went up 55-0 on a three-yard rush.
The Bulldog offense finally found paydirt on the ensuing drive as they marched 75 yards to stop the shutout. Junior quarterback D.J. McGarvie found fellow junior Austin Jablonski on a 16-yard pass to make it 6-55. The point after from freshman Peyton Atwood was no good. Morningside quickly answered back with a touchdown of their own to make it 62-6. The fourth quarter only saw each team have the ball twice, and nothing came of those two possessions.
McGarvie led the Bulldogs in passing, going 19-37 for 179 yards and 1 touchdown. Senior Devin Ziegler led the team in rushing with 16 carries for 70 yards. Jablonski led the team in receiving with six catches for 56 yards. Junior linebacker C.J. Dyhrkopp led the team in tackles with nine total.
The Concordia Bulldogs football team is now 2-4 overall and 2-4 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. They travel to Hastings next Saturday, Oct. 14 to take on Hastings College at 1 p.m.
