Football Posts a Strong 2023 Season

MEQUON, Wis. - The Concordia Wisconsin football team assembled a strong 2023 campaign, which saw the program reach the seven-win mark in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2012-13. The Falcons' 6-2 mark in conference play granted them second place in the NACC standings, improving on the team's projected fifth-place finish in the preseason poll. While the selection represented the team's highest in the poll since 2019, Concordia's ambition for more was evident both in the progression of the season as well as in its place in the standings. 

Game 1 vs. Martin Luther, 55-14: Behind a 28-0 performance in the first half, the Falcons powered past the Martin Luther Knights to win their first game of the 2024 season. Concordia dominated the run game on both sides of the ball, rushing for 223 yards while holding the Knights to -2 yards on 33 attempts. The win represented the Falcons' seventh in their last eight season openers.

Game 3 vs. Lakeland, 31-28: Concordia secured the Cheese Bowl against Lakeland with a come-from-behind victory to open its conference schedule. With just under six minutes remaining in the contest, the Falcons secured the lead with a 30-yard touchdown pass. Marquiton Sellers then held the Muskies a yard short on a red zone fourth down to end the game, marking Concordia's sixth fourth-down stop of the day.

Game 4 vs. Wisconsin Lutheran, 41-0: The Falcons clinched the Luther Cup with their highest-scoring shutout victory since 2007, which saw Ashar Thomas collect three rushing touchdowns. Concordia posted 374 yards of total offense in the outing, reaching a 3-1 record for the third consecutive season.

Game 5 vs. Concordia Chicago, 57-42: The Falcons emerged with a victory in the battle of the Concordias, outscoring the Cougars 28-13 in the second half of play. Behind a defense that accounted for a pair of touchdowns and a rushing attack that totaled a season-high 283 yards, the Falcons posted their highest-scoring game since 2014.

Game 6 vs. Benedictine, 28-0: The Falcons tallied their second shutout of the season against the Eagles to mark their first victory over Benedictine since 2019. The homecoming win was secured by four rushing touchdowns from within the five-yard line, as Pierre Summers III and Ashar Thomas each punched the ball into the end zone twice.

Game 8 vs. Eureka, 35-21: Concordia dominated the Red Devils on the ground, totaling 303 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Michael Purkey found his seventh passing touchdown of the season while Justice Kaneta ran an interception 55 yards into the end zone.

Game 9 vs. Rockford, 66-21: The Falcons found points on ten of twelve drives against Rockford, notching 613 total yards to represent the team's highest yardage since 2018. Concordia's defense restricted Rockford to just 17 yards on its first six possessions while forcing a pair of turnovers.

The Falcons posted a number of honors in the 2023 season, as the hardware began to pour in following the team's Week 3 victory over Lakeland. Marquiton Sellers posted seven tackles in the outing to earn a spot on the D3football.com team of the week, becoming the first Falcon to earn the honor since 2013. Sellers also notched NACC recognition, earning the conference's Defensive Player of the Week honors with his performance. Kicker Nick Klein joined him in the weekly review, securing NACC Special Teams Player of the Week after going a perfect 4-4 on extra points while sending a 31-yard kick through the uprights.

Justice Kaneta vaulted the Falcons back into conference honors, taking the defensive player of the week award after posting twelve tackles and returning an interception 55 yards in the team's eighth game of the season against Eureka.

Michael Purkey became the first Falcon to secure NACC offensive player of the week honors since 2021 in the days after the team's following game, a 66-21 trouncing of Rockford. Purkey tossed for four touchdowns in the contest while ending the day with 19 consecutive completions. Logan Navis joined Purkey in the press release, taking special teams player of the week after becoming just the second player in team history to kick at a 100% rate on nine or more extra point attempts.

The team's final game of the season saw Concordia land another defensive star on the d3football.com team of the week, as Justice Kaneta tallied a game-high 15 tackles while leading a defense that held No. 13 Aurora to a season-low 23 points.

The Falcons also fared extremely well with postseason honors, landing 15 all-conference recognitions. Evan Lischka, Justice Kaneta, and Luke Droegmueller represented Concordia on the All-NACC First-Team, while Ashar Thomas, Andrew Elmhorst, Jerrell Carrey, Gio Nowotarski, and Marquiton Sellers collected spots on the All-NACC Second-Team. Posting honorable mentions on the team were Pierre Summers III, Chase Coots, Ben Kraft, Breven Palpatollac, Se'Korrey Thomas, Justin Cabrera, and Nick Crowell.

Kaneta secured statewide recognition as well, taking the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Private School Player of the Year Award.

Concordia also saw itself represented on the D3football.com all-regional teams, as Drogemueller and Lischka found themselves on the Region 5 second team while Kaneta and Sellers earned places on the third team.

The College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team recognized three Falcons in Lischka, Kaneta, and Elmhorst.

Lischka also became the eighth Concordia athlete and first football player to earn a spot on the College Sports Communicators All-American Team.

On the heels of two consecutive second-place finishes, the Falcons will look to battle their way to the top of the National Athletic Collegiate Conference in 2024.