Bulldogs Wane in Drizzly Battle Against Doane
by Clyde Ericson
On a rainy Saturday, No. 16 Concordia headed to Crete on Sept. 24 to play the No. 5 Doane University Tigers. The rivalry was delayed due to lightning, but nothing could stop the teams from competing, and Concordia lost to Doane 27-7.
Doane would get the first score off of a 62-yard punt return straight up the middle of the field. After an interception by senior corner back Cory Evans Jr., sophomore quarterback Riley Wiltfong would answer by floating a pass to junior wide receiver Jared Garcia in the corner of the end zone to tie the game with five minutes left in the first quarter.
Concordia quickly gained the ball back and moved down the field, but their field goal attempt was blocked by the Doane defense. A second field goal attempt by the Bulldogs was also muffed. This gave Doane enough time to get down the field and score by the end of the second quarter. The Tigers missed the extra point to make the score 13-7 at halftime.
The third quarter was a defensive battle that left both teams scoreless.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Doane was faced with a fourth and two situation, and opted to go for the first down. As Concordia’s defense pressed the line of scrimmage, Doane quarterback Jack Shadley threw a bomb into the endzone that broke the scoring drought and ended up giving the Tigers a 20-7 lead. As Concordia started to throw the ball more aggressively during the fourth quarter, Doane turned an interception into another 7 points.
Senior running back Bryce Collins had 90-yards on 13 carries. Senior wide receiver Trae Owens had 90-yards receiving, while Garcia had 67-yards receiving and one touchdown. Junior quarterback TJ Austin threw for 157-yards and three interceptions, while Wiltfong threw for 165-yards, one interception and one touchdown. Doane used those four interceptions for 112-yards, though the Bulldogs had more total yards of offense (404-309).
Now 3-1 overall and 1-1 in GPAC, the No. 21 Bulldogs will be on the road to take on No. 2 Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1.
