Football earns come-from-behind victory

AURORA, Ill. – Down six points with just over eight minutes to go, Concordia Wisconsin's defense made a huge play with recording a safety to put points on the board and with two minutes to play Aaron Nixon dove in for a 1-yard touchdown to secure a 23-20 come-from-behind victory over Aurora on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 23, Aurora 20
Location: Spartan Athletic Park (Aurora, Ill.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin 5-1, 3-0 NACC; Aurora 1-5, 1-2 NACC

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Aurora jumped out to a 10-0 lead with 4:42 to play in the opening quarter after a 35-yard touchdown pass and a 32-yard field goal. It was the largest lead of the game for either team.
- Quarterback Aaron Nixon (senior, North Prairie, Wis.) connected with his go-to target Josh Sanders (senior, Phoenix, Ariz.) for a 3-yard score, but the Spartans answered with a 20-yard run to put the lead back to 10 points.
- Concordia Wisconsin responded with an 11-yard score when Nixon found freshman Tanner Hill (Phoenix, Ariz.) prior to a 47-yard Zac Mirabelli field goal by Aurora. The headline of the game was the defense's ability to pin the Spartans into their own end zone for a safety, followed by Nixon diving in for a touchdown.
- The victory puts Concordia Wisconsin in a tie with Eureka atop the NACC standings, both with 3-0 league records.
- Nixon ended with 258 passing yards and two touchdowns, to go along with 38 rushing yards and a score. Sanders had 11 receptions for 152 yards and a touchdown.
- Senior Jacob Mason (Slinger, Wis.) punted seven times and pinned Aurora inside its 20-yard line three times.
- Sophomore Dwayne Rackard II (Orlando, Fla.) had a game-high 15 tackles (10 solo), to go along with a sack for six yards lost. Sophomore Troy Stewart (Trevor, Wis.) had eight tackles (six solo) and 2.5 tackles for loss.
- Freshman Josiah McDermit (Kansasville, Wis.) had an interception, tackle for loss and six solo tackles.
- Aurora's Gavin Zimbleman ended with 221 passing yards, touchdown and interception. Emilio Starks had five receptions for 64 yards and a score, while Tyran Bailey rushed 22 times for 119 yards.
- Kurtis Chione led the Spartans defense with nine tackles (seven solo), 2.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Jon Wall had five tackles, solo sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.

GAME NOTES
- Aurora ended with a 25-19 advantage in first downs and a 392-348 total offensive yards advantage.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- Concordia Wisconsin hosts NACC foe Concordia Chicago on October 20 at 1 pm at Tomasini Stadium.