Shaky second half brings about loss to No. 16 Dordt
Concordia sets up on defense against Dordt
Photo: Kai Olbrich
By Kai Olbrich
Sports Editor
After a competitive first half on Saturday, the Concordia University football team couldn’t hang on against the No. 16 Dordt University Defenders and fell 51-21 for its second loss of the 2026 season.
The Bulldogs had a strong second quarter in which they cut a 14-point deficit down to just seven with a 75-yard touchdown pass from graduate student Gideon Stark to fellow fifth-year Adam van Cleave, to make the score 21-14. Concordia had the ball with the opportunity to level the score late in the first half, but a sequence of incomplete passes forced the Bulldogs to punt and allowed Dordt the time to hit a 50-yard field goal as time expired.
Coach Daberkow credited his team’s first-half performance to execution and winning their matchups.
“Yeah, we had guys who just made plays, you know, that was the long and the short of it,” Daberkow said. “When we can win the one-on-one matchups, we’re a very tough team to defend.”
After the halftime interval, it was all Dordt. The Defenders scored 14 unanswered in the third quarter and added 13 more to close out the game. The Bulldogs’ only second-half points came from junior Camden Jensen. Jensen played at quarterback for most of the fourth quarter and produced a 46-yard rushing touchdown with nine minutes to go.
Dordt’s starting quarterback, Noah Strickfaden, was very efficient and helped get Dordt into Bulldog territory with 21-of-26 passing and 268 yards with one touchdown. The defenders also had a diverse running cast, with six players surpassing 30 rushing yards in the game.
Junior Carlos Collazo led the Bulldogs in rushing yards with 113 on 19 carries. Van Cleave accounted for the majority of Concordia’s aerial threat as he reeled in nine receptions for 142 yards. He was injured in Concordia’s previous game against Mount Marty, and Daberkow is happy to have him back.
“He’s huge. It’s nice to have him back, you know, because we didn’t have him last week,” Daberkow said. “He opens up a lot of things, even in our run game, if defenses have to account for where he’s at. It’s a game changer. So yeah, we love having him available.”
With the loss, Concordia drops to 2-2 on the season and marks the ninth straight Concordia football loss to the Defenders. The Bulldogs will be back in action on Oct. 3 in Orange City, Iowa, to take on No. 22 Northwestern.
