Bulldogs lean on early success for homecoming victory 

Fans cheer on Concordia against Mount Marty for homecoming

Photo: Max Fritsche

By Trey Boychuk

The Concordia Bulldog football team got back into their winning ways on Saturday as they defeated Mount Marty 42-24.

The Dawgs started the game off exactly how they wanted when senior Collin Fritton returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Moments later, the Bulldogs got an interception and then scored. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead within the first minute of the game.

Junior running back Carlos Collazo had a monster game, rushing for 176 yards along with two touchdowns. The running game was prevalent all afternoon as graduate student quarterback Gideon Stark rushed for two touchdowns himself.

The Bulldog defense was showcasing all of its talent as they raked in five interceptions and also recovered a fumble.

Starting center, junior Joshua Luehr emphasized that this was a big win for the Bulldogs.

“It’s huge coming off of a tough loss like that where we couldn’t get anything going,” Luehr said.

The Bulldogs lost 38-27 against Hastings last week in a game where every Concordia point came in the fourth quarter. However, Concordia was able to regroup and pick up the win on homecoming day.

Coach Patrick Daberkow was pleased with the team’s effort this week in practice in preparation for this game.

“This was hands down the best week of practice,” Daberkow said.

The Bulldogs went for 336 yards of total offense. Mount Marty outdid them with 518 yards of offense, but were foiled multiple times in the red zone by Concordia’s defense.

The Bulldogs’ next game is another home one as they welcome the No. 11 Dordt Defenders to Seward on Sept. 26th.