Bulldogs Beat St. Mary in first Game of the Season

by Clyde Erickson

The Concordia football team opened its season with a 23-7 win over the University of St. Mary on Saturday, Sept. 3. It was pouring rain throughout the game, but the Bulldog fans braved through the elements to support their team.

After the first few series, the Bulldogs had St. Mary back against their goal in good field position. St. Mary tried a lateral screen pass and the ball was knocked free after a hit from junior defensive back Sebastian Garces. The Bulldogs gained possession of the fumble in the red zone. Three downs later, junior quarterback TJ Austin went to junior wide receiver Jared Garcia on a screen pass that resulted in the Bulldogs’ first touchdown of the season.

Later in the first half, after a missed field goal by St. Mary, the Bulldogs marched down the field and ended the drive with a dive by senior running back Bryce Collins, stretching the lead for the Bulldogs 14-0.

In the second half, a 76-yard pass by St. Mary put the spires back in the game. With 9:04 left in the third quarter, Austin threw a fade to Garcia. Garcia trapped the ball in the end zone to give the Bulldogs a comfortable 21-7 lead.

With three minutes left in the game and St. Mary’s cornered against their end zone, Shane Scott sacked the opposing quarterback. This earned the Bulldogs a safety and the final score of 23-7.

“I don’t think that we played our best football by any stretch, but it’s something that we can build off of, something we can get better from,” Coach Vance Winter said. “I thought defensively we played pretty well all game, except for one play. They did some things scheme-wise that were kind of different than what we saw on film, but we got a win. Every win is beautiful.”

The Bulldogs will be away from home next Saturday, Sept. 10 to play at Ottawa University. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.