Concordia football scores close win against Lancers on Saturday, 31-27
The Concordia football team watches as Coach Courtney Meyer rings the bell after a successful game.
Photo credit: Maddy Peters
By Maddy Peters
Sports Editor
The Concordia football team had a close game against the Mount Marty University Lancers Saturday afternoon eking out a 31-27 win at home.
The win was punctuated by what Concordia declared Coach Courtney Meyer day. The legendary coach announced that he would retire following the 2024 season after 54 years.
“After 54 years, you just think back of all the great experiences you’ve had, and it’s the players and the love of the game that have kept me going and it’s kept me as young as I am and I’m only 81,” said Meyer, “But at some point, you just sort of look back and say, ‘I’ve been truly blessed.’ It’s the best thing I can say. I had been blessed beyond measure for doing what I do here, doing something I love and being around great young people. So that’s something I’ll never forget, and I’ll appreciate. But it was time for me to walk away.”
Coach Patrick Daberkow was a player under Meyer in the early 2000s and has worked with him in various coaching capacities starting in 2013.
“I’ll say this: I love him, he’s a man of prayer and integrity, and I just respect him and his family so much for how they’ve served the student athletes on this campus for the decades that they’ve served,” Daberkow said.
The first quarter started off with a quick drive ending in a touchdown for senior Mark Arp off a rush of one yard. It was his 11th of the season. The Bulldogs then had to face the wily offense of the Lancers who were quite good at finding holes in the defense to slowly but surely march down the field.
The first drive for Mount Marty ended in a field goal. Meanwhile, Concordia had a short drive with big plays including a 36-yard rush from Arp and a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior John Goodwin.
The Lancers’ next drive demonstrated their offensive capabilities with a showcase of their quarterback, Rugby Ryken. Ryken had three double digit passes in the drive with a 21-yard pass, an 18-yard pass, and a 32-yard touchdown pass.
Ryken passed for 245 yards in the game, one more than Concordia senior quarterback DJ McGarvie, despite throwing five fewer passes and two interceptions.
Mount Marty took the lead early in the second after a fumble from sophomore running back Carlos Collazo giving the Lancers possession in the red zone. All Ryken needed was a 10-yard pass to inch ahead of the Bulldogs.
Concordia responded midway through the half with a monster 50-yard pass from McGarvie to junior Adam Van Cleave to take back the lead.
The lead would be short lived as Lancer running back Kyle Hirsch rushed down the field on 42-yard and 15-yard plays to put Mount Marty into a scoring position. With another touchdown pass later, Concordia was behind again.
Junior Daylon Henson would set up the next scoring opportunity for the Bulldogs with his fifth interception of the season in the Mount Marty redzone. Concordia ended the first half with a 37-yard field goal by Peyton Atwood to tie the game 24-24.
Mount Marty received the ball to start off the second half and ate up 9:24 minutes to kick a field goal and break the tie. Concordia then made the game winning touchdown on an eight-yard pass to junior Max Bartels, his first career touchdown reception. They took the lead.
Neither team was able to score anything in the fourth quarter. Mount Marty had a field goal blocked by senior Nick Leader and junior Grant Huss would later pick off a pass from Ryken. Concordia also had another fumble in the fourth by Arp.
The game ended in cinematic fashion with 50 seconds left on the clock, fourth and 11 for the Lancers, and a lead by Concordia that required Mount Marty to score a touchdown. Ryken’s pass to Hirsch fell incomplete and Concordia was able to take a knee and put up another win for the Bulldogs.
Daberkow was relieved to get through the game with the win. The Lancers had a bye week after a big loss to Dordt University, so they were rested and had tricks up their sleeves.
“They’ve had two weeks to prepare for us because they came off of a bye week, so we didn’t really know what they were going to throw at us,” said Daberkow, “But I was just happy to get out of here with a win today because that’s a very quality opponent.”
Meyer expressed a similar opinion affirming that though the game might not have gone as well as it could have, it is important for the team to take the win that they get.
“This team really battled us hard, it was a team that we didn’t overlook and so while we hope we would have played better, we didn’t but we did win when we had to, so we’re thankful we won,” said Meyer. “On a day like this, you just have to walk away with the win and be thankful for it. So I’m thankful for that and thankful for the team, the way they responded.”
One of the big problems the Bulldog defense had was that they allowed Mount Marty to convert on third down. The Lancers were 9-15 on third down conversions, and two of those six unconverted thirds were field goals and points on the board.
“It’s just, we’ve got to be able to get off the field on third down,” said Daberkow, “That’s the big thing.”
McGarvie eclipsed 8,500 career passing yards and broke the single season record for touchdown passes of 21 previously held by Von Thomas in the 2014 season. McGarvie now stands at 1,873 passing yards this season and has 22 touchdown passes. McGarvie threw for 244 yards against Mount Marty with a 26-35 completion rate. His longest pass was the 50-yarder to Van Cleave in the second quarter.
Arp became the seventh Concordia running back to hit 1,000 yards in a season and is now fifth on the record book with two games to go. He had 183 rushing yards against Mount Marty and now has 1,039 for the season.
Van Cleave was McGarvie’s top target for the day with 82 yards on nine receptions. Senior Austin Jablonski, the season’s leading receiver added 41 yards on six receptions.
On the defensive side of the stat sheet, senior Kyle Sterup was the top tackler with 10 total including seven solos and three assists. He also had four tackles for a total of 17 lost yards and recorded a QB hurry.
The game’s win was cemented by Atwood who kicked the extra point after Bartels’ third quarter touchdown to put Concordia just ahead to force the touchdown win condition. He has been 32-35 on extra-point kicks this season and has hit all three of his field goal attempts including a 26-yard kick against Northwestern, a 26-yard kick against Doane University and the 37-yarder at the end of the second quarter.
The team is now 6-2 for the first time since 2013. The team next welcomes Hastings College to Seward on Nov. 2 for senior day. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. With two games left on the schedule, time is running out for Concordia to make the playoffs. The games against Hastings and Midland University on Nov. 16 will be crucial for the Bulldogs’ first bid since the 2001 season under Meyer.
“Hopefully we can keep going. I hope we can finish strong and maybe make the playoffs, so that’s important to me,” said Meyer.