CUNE football dominates on Saturday against Hastings
Photo description: Concordia running back breaks through the defensive line
Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh (Photo from previous game)
Isaac Dawson
Sower Staff
Concordia dominated the field in their football game against the Hastings College Broncos this Saturday, taking the game with a final score of 44-23.
The first quarter began with a strong lead by Concordia. Receiving the ball to begin the game, the Bulldogs made a 12-play, 98-yard push that ended in their first touchdown by senior running back Devin Zeigler.
The Broncos made an effort to even the score, but only got just beyond center field before giving up the ball. The Bulldogs made full use of the opportunity, making another touchdown in only two plays with a 51-yard pass to junior wide receiver Austin Jablonski. Hastings got themselves on the board at the last minute with a field goal, bringing the score to 14-3.
Hastings entered into the second quarter with a bang that looked like they might bring the game around in their favor, taking home a touchdown with a six-play drive in the first few minutes of the quarter.
After a back-and-forth with the Concordia defense, they scored again with another touchdown, making the score a near even 14-16 after a failed extra point attempt. The Bulldogs brought the lead back at 17-16 after a drive near the bottom of the quarter, with freshman Peyton Atwood kicking a 33-yard field goal.
After a great halftime performance by the Hastings Marching Band, Concordia put the pedal to the metal in the third quarter. Leaving the Broncos’ defense reeling, Jablonski was unstoppable, scoring two touchdowns following two 80-yard drives from the Bulldog offense in the last half of the quarter. Hastings’ offense had no reply, leaving a large gap in points to try and make up in the fourth quarter at a score of 31-16.
If the Broncos hoped to even the score in the last quarter of the game, letting CUNE freshman defensive back Luke Penrod take the ball in for another touchdown was not the winning strategy. In an impressive response to that turnaround, Hastings then received the ball off the punt and took it straight into Concordia’s endzone after a mere eight seconds had passed on the clock, bringing the score to 38-23.
Their offense was unable to replicate the move, however, and the Bulldogs blew past the Broncos’ defense for one final touchdown to bring the final score to 44-23.
Junior D.J. McGarvie had a 20-31 catch attempt ratio, throwing for a total of 355 yards and passing three touchdowns.
Zeigler led the team in rushing yards, going for 73 yards on 21 attempts and scoring one touchdown. Austin Jablonski was the lead receiver with 185 yards, taking three of Concordia’s six touchdowns.
Freshman Will Potratz had the most tackles for the Bulldogs’ defense, with 11 solos and one assist. He was closely followed by junior Kyle Sterup, who had five solos and four assists. The defense as a whole made 84 tackles, with 54 solos and 30 assists.
Concordia has a season record of 3-4. Their next game is against the Midland University Warriors on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m.
