Cougars run past Falcons in NACC contest

RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Concordia Chicago started and ended the game strong on Saturday afternoon to earn a 37-17 victory over Concordia Wisconsin in NACC play. The Cougars scored 14 points in the first and fourth quarters.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Concordia Chicago 37, Concordia Wisconsin 17
Location: Concordia Stadium (River Forest, Ill.)
Records: Concordia Chicago 3-3, 1-2 NACC; Concordia Wisconsin 1-6, 0-3 NACC

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Concordia Chicago had two long-sustaining drives in the opening quarter lasting both over 75 yards, which culminated in a Shane Virnala 42-yard connection with Ryan Allison and a 32-yard pass-and-catch touchdown to Leroy Bridges. The early scores set the momentum for the rest of the game for the hosts.
- Junior Jacob Mason (Slinger, Wis.) booted a 27-yard field goal in the later portions of the second quarter, but it was all the Falcons could do as they found themselves down 37-3 with 10 minutes to play in the game.
- Freshman Dalton Poole (Kewaskum, Wis.) returned to the field and connected with senior DeMarcus Heglar (Chicago, Ill.) for a 20-yard score with 9:38 remaining in the game. Poole also found junior Devin Kooi (Zion, Ill.) for a 14-yard score with 22 seconds left on the clock.
- The Falcons offense struggled to move the ball down the field at times, turning the ball over on downs three times and fumbling twice. They did, however, reach the end zone three times (scoring twice) in the game. Meanwhile, all five of the Cougars scoring drives were over 50 yards.
- Freshman Blake Wilson (Henderson, Nev.) led Concordia Wisconsin's ground attack with 77 yards. Poole threw for 128 yards and freshman Bryan Gudka (Keenesburg, Colo.), who started the game, passed for 156 yards.
- Junior Josh Sanders (Phoenix, Ariz.) returned to action and hauled in six passes for 86 yards, while junior Ryan Wagner (Mukwonago, Wis.) had six receptions for 52 yards.
- Senior Albert Goerlitz (Withee, Wis.) had 10 solo tackles. Mason and junior Jon Rauh (Slinger, Wis.) each forced a fumble and senior Maxwell Fischer (Joliet, Ill.) recovered a loose ball.

THE OPPOSITION
- Tylor Martens ran for 146 yards on 16 attempts (9.1 average). Virnalla passed for 330 yards on 27-of-36, to go along with four throwing touchdowns.
- Ryan Allison was the go-to target with nine receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
- Demetrius Rufus had nine tackles (seven solo) for the Cougars, while Trevau Collins forced a fumble. Ivan Vixamar and Steven Tobie each picked up a fumble during the game.
- Concordia Chicago had five different players record a sack in the win.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- Concordia Wisconsin travels to Rockford for a 1 pm NACC contest on Saturday, October 28.