Football scores early in season-opening road win at Finlandia

HANCOCK, Mich. – Concordia Wisconsin scored on its first three possessions of the game en route to a commanding 31-3 non-conference, season-opening victory at Finlandia on Saturday afternoon at McAfee Field.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 31, Finlandia 3
Location: McAfee Field (Hancock, Mich.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin 1-0, Finlandia 0-1

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Senior Aaron Nixon (North Prairie, Wis.) directed the offense down the field for three scoring drives of 58, 65 and 67 yards in the opening quarter to help the Falcons build a comfortable 21-0 lead early on.
- Junior Jake Riportella (Des Plaines, Ill.) hauled in his second touchdown of the game with a 12-yard grab in the third quarter before senior Jacob Mason (Slinger, Wis.) booted a 28-yard field goal in the final quarter to cap off the scoring.
- Concordia Wisconsin overwhelmed Finlandia all game; owning a 23-10 advantage in first downs, 452-182 difference in yards and limiting the Lions to 4-of-13 on third-down conversions.
- The Falcons ended the victory by scoring 5-of-6 times in the red zone.
- Nixon completed 26-of-35 yards for 310 yards and four touchdowns, but did have two interceptions.
- Junior Isaiah Tenette (Sacramento, Calif.) hauled in seven passes for a team-high 73 yards and a touchdown. Senior Josh Sanders (Phoenix, Ariz.) made five catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.
- Senior Kody Lemley (Lake Station, Ind.) led the Falcons defense with seven tackles, while sophomore Troy Stewart (Trevor, Wis.) made six tackles. As a unit, the defense broke up four passes.

GAME NOTES
- Finlandia punted on six of its nine possessions in the contest.
- Concordia Wisconsin has outscored Finlandia 104-23 over the past three seasons.

THE OPPOSITION
- De'Llontae Johnson had 115 passing yards for the Lions, while Kostreva ran for 36 yards. Kujawa hauled in three passes for 43 yards.
- Avery Huibregtse kicked a 33-yard field goal for the hosts only points of the game.
- Anthony led all players with 13 tackles (nine solo) and returned an interception 47 yards. Carlson had seven tackles and 2.0 sacks.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- Concordia Wisconsin hosts Augsburg on Saturday, September 8 at 1 pm in its home opener at Tomasini Stadium.