Concordia football falls to No. 6 Dordt, 56-20
The Concordia football team begins a play.
Photo credit: Kai Olbrich
By Ransom Watts
A tough third quarter led Concordia Football to succumb to the undefeated Dordt Defenders on the road this weekend in Sioux Center, Iowa.
From the start, Dordt proved to be a challenge for Concordia, scoring on their second drive of the game, and then picking off a pass in Concordia territory to put them in scoring position and go up 14-0.
With the ball back and time running short in the first quarter, Concordia brought the ball within the red zone to Dordt’s 10-yard line, where Stark ran the ball for Concordia’s first touchdown.
Dordt struck right back and scored again off a 67-yard drive that set the score at 21-7. Concordia was once again able, however, to bring the Bulldogs within a one-possession difference with a touchdown off of a 75-yard drive to the Defender’s endzone.
Concordia’s defense was able to keep Dordt at bay until some offensive shortcomings gave the ball back to the defenders at Concordia’s 47-yard line. The Defenders capitalized on the opportunity and combined for a 47-yard drive that brought the score to 28-14.
The rest of the second quarter remained scoreless, and the Bulldogs still had a fighting chance. Unfortunately, in the third quarter, things began to fall apart for Concordia. Dordt went on a 14-0 score streak in the third that brought the score to 49-20.
Dordt didn’t pass as much as Concordia but was more efficient with it. Concordia had a 50 percent completion rate, 18-36, while Dordt went 12-19 for a 63 percent completion rate.
Dordt was also more efficient in rushing and nearly doubled their average yards per rush with 6.9 yards to Concordia’s 2.9 yards.
On the first drive of the fourth quarter, Dordt scored its last points off a 14-yard rushing touchdown that left the score at 56-20. The rest of the fourth quarter saw back-and-forth drive attempts by the two teams that had no effect on the score.
Next weekend, the Bulldogs face the evenly matched 6-3 Northwestern Raiders at home for senior day at 1 p.m. in the last game of the regular season, where they hope to make a big splash and give Concordia a chance to compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 2025 football playoffs.
